The Indigenous Christian Tradition in Images of Fauna in the Novo-Hispanic Convents of Ixmiquilpan, Actopan and Tepeapulco, Mexico

Abstract

This work consists of analysing how the indigenous artists of New Spain in the 16^th century captured in animal images concepts related to the new Christianity permeated by the ancient Mesoamerican worldview. The images maintain formal constants in the representations thanks to the use of visual schemes, some of which are not entirely attributable to European engravings, but to the formation of a shared visual culture in which the traditions of the Spaniards and the indigenous undoubtedly converged. To this end, I will discuss the qualities of the grotesque that made it possible for some visual elements of Prehispanic origin to be captured on the walls of the convents of Ixmiquilpan, Actopan and Tepeapulco. I will discuss designs of monumental mural painting, but also of graffiti that allow a broader analysis of the presence of a visual tradition.