Indigenized Baroque in Viceroyal Panama: Visual Anthropology and Iconography of Two Virgins (La Dolorosa y la Virgen del Carmen)

Abstract

Two religious art objects, La Dolorosa and the Virgen del Carmen, were recently found in a parish church in Chitré, (Herrera, Panama). Because of their historiographic value, the works have been evaluated to establish their authorship, origins, and context in New Granada. The research design is based on the systematization of the other elements of the iconographic method and the anthropology of images. It addresses the historical evangelizing scenario involving the Spanish and Indigenous peoples. Religious images had an important social function as they conveyed religious and cultural messages that helped to shape a new identity for Indigenous and mestizo peoples. This process was reflected in Indigenized baroque art, which combined European and Indigenous elements.