Art of Colonial Latin America [Paperback]

The book Art in Colonial Latin America cover dates ranging form 1492 all the way to 1820. This book is perfect for those who are interested Latin American art in South America as well as the southwest United States. Bailey has a way of capturing the reader right from the beginning. His book starts with the first encounters and then takes you through how both the native people and the Spanish respond to the mix of cultures, he does an amazing job at telling both sides of the story. The reader really gets a true sense of the difficulties the natives faced with their new encounters. Bailey does a tremendous job on making the indigenous people the foreground of this new change. In chapter two his introductory statement shows just that "Until quite recently, historians of the conquest of the Americans focused almost entirely on the actions of the European conquerors and settlers. They treated the indigenous people as a silent backdrop to their Spanish and Portuguese protagonists, and paid scant attention to their cultures after the fall of the great pre-Hispanic civilizations." Bailey's book not only has very valuable history but along with it he has some wonderful images that are able to express exactly what points Bailey is trying to get across. For example when Bailey is discussing a type of life style such as colonial mansions he pairs the text with a beautiful full page image (page 324-325) so the viewer/reader can really connect with what aspects Bailey is discussing.
Bailey's book is very well done with the information and the images; however the one weakness that I find is in the layout of the book. When I first picked this book up I found the front cover to not only be boring but very uninviting to read. The title was very small, isn't centered on the cover, and to me the image was to small in comparison to the size of the book, it has a very unfinished look. When I opened the book I was again disappointed with the layout, I thought the text was to small and the large margins on the sides and small margins on the top and bottom of the pages where very distracting to me. The other thing that didn't seem quite right was the placement of the page numbers on the side of the left side of the page, also very small, and the pages with only images didn't have number either.
This books information is very well organized, Bailey starts with the pre-Hispanic world and then goes through to the Spaniards coming to the new world and then how the two cultures star to become one. Bailey gives you a brief table of contents so you can see what each chapter is about. In the back of the book there is a glossary which defines and explains words, events and artist. This glossary is very helpful especially with a culture that isn't as well understood. After the glossary Bailey provides us with a list of key dates and a map, which is very easy to refer to. Bailey has an index which also makes finding works of art very easy. Every one should read this book, they can gain so much knowledge from Bailey's insight. However I think that the language and contents of this book would be very appropriate for high school age kids and older.
Before reading this book I didn't know nearly as much about the indigenous people and how they were affected by the Spanish coming to the new world. In my studies I always focused on the Spanish and their reaction on coming to the new world. My eyes were really opened to the fact that they indigenous people not only had to change their way of life, but had such a great impact on the religious icons found in the Saints honored by the Spanish. This is a really good book easy to read and very interesting, bailey has a way of capturing his audience and really showing them both side of the story.

This excellent book provides a thoughtful overview on a wide range of times and places in Latin America during the extensive Colonial period. The book exposes the reader to the complexities of the Colonization while explaining in a clear manner the originality and worth of the Amerindian art production during the this tumultuous and hybrid times.
Through beautiful illustrations, the art of the continent is given the well-deserved attention that other books on the topic are lacking. Highly recommended to anybody interested in the history and arts of the Americas.

Great book for a really broad overview of Latin American art. Gives a brief introduction to Pre-Colonial Latin American art as well.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 5 reviews  4.4 out of 5 stars