Answer

Spanish Conquest

As the 15^th century ended, the onset of a period of discovery and exploration was initiated in Europe. For instance, in 1942, Christopher Columbus made a discovery of the, now known, Bahamas Island (Pohl, 2012). This was a discovery that marked the onset of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. With an aim of achieving power, wealth and territories, different destinations such as Spain sent explorers to engage in discovery efforts of new routes of trade and land. Upon the arrival of the Spanish community in America, the dominant empires at the time included the Inca and the Aztec empires (Pohl, 2012). Despite their advanced cultures and the societies, the members of the Spanish communities considered the Aztec and the Inca as primitive groups. This paper compares and contrasts the manner in which each group was trained, the imagery they produced, and how they appeared.

Aztec Political and Religious Beliefs Representation

            The primary function of the Aztec Art involved expressing the mythical and religious concepts with an aim of legitimizing the state’s power. The artistic language utilized by the members of the community was predominantly expressed through the use of iconographic metaphors and symbols. For example, the image of eagles was used to symbolize a warrior while that of the serpents were associated with Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc gods (Pohl, 2012).

            In the Aztec community, young boys would be educated on how to represent their political and religious beliefs by their parents. The training would go on up to the point whereby the boys attained the age of 15 years (Pohl, 2012). Subsequently, the boys would be sent for further studies on astronomy, philosophy and writing while the girls were now permitted to be married. During painting, the Spanish conquistadors were educated of the fact that Gold was a precious material which could be utilized to represent political or religious beliefs in art.  However, this was not the case when it came to the Aztecs. Notably, the Aztecs utilized the gold in making jewelry and also referred to as the god’s excrement. The Aztecs considered feathers as the most valuable element which was fashioned into objects great beauty. The feathers were used to symbolize power and wealth as well as the fundamental aspect of the ritual of outfit warriors.

            Looking at the case of religious beliefs, it is evident that the Aztecs’ views were determined by the Legend of the Suns or an explanation of the universe’s origin. Moreover, the Gods, as visualized by the Aztecs, were represented as the ordinary men and women. Each of the gods had unique roles and personalities which were documented in their paintings. Despite this, it is evident that the Aztecs did not have a concept of heaven and hell. Instead, the members of this community envisioned the cosmos as an aspect divided into layers (Pohl, 2012). One of the works of art which can be considered to represent the Aztecs’ religious stand includes the Deified Warrior Brazier shown in the figure below.

Figure 1: Deified Warrior Brazier

            This brazier was utilized to represent a warrior who was scarified to the Gods within the Aztec community. Such death was considered as honorable as their spirits went through the celestial plane and further accompanied the sun within its daily path over the sky. The black, yellow and red decoration as well as the facial paint was used to identify the warrior as the patron of the military victory and youthful energy. Similar to other sculptures associated with the Aztec, the brazier could have been lit during religious events celebrated within the community (Pohl, 2012).

            The members of the Spanish community represented their political and religious beliefs in painting through the use of Plateresque styles as influenced by the Italians. However, it is evident that with the change of time, such as during the Renaissance period, the Spanish relied on the use of superficial techniques which included a blend of the Flemish practices while incorporating its mannerist qualities (Pohl, 2012). At this time, the use of nudity in the painting was evident alongside a sense of pious devotion featured alongside religious devotion. This is symbolized in Luis de Morals work Pieta shown below.

Figure 2: Pieta

            In the image above, it is evident that the Spanish painters paid attention to precision and detail. The painting is used to communicate a devotional message about the feeling of pain reflected by Mary as he saw Jesus dead.  Evidently, the word “Pieta” is used to communicate compassion or pity as reflected by Mary as he contemplates the death of Jesus thus communicating a religious message communicated to the members of the community about Christ’s death. The use of symbols such as the red paint to symbolize blood is used to ensure that the viewers become deeply entrenched to the emotion related (Pohl, 2012).

            The Spanish also relied on the use of painting to communicate their political beliefs by using symbols such as the eagle to suggest power and strength. For instance, Figure 3 below provides an insight of how the Spanish represented their political agenda through painting.

Figure 3: Mural Guernica

            The painting above was used to symbolize the Spanish stand on antifascism. The painting relies on the use of lines and a gray scale with a primary aim of combating the rumors that the Picasso acted in support of the military efforts. Evidently, the panting communicated a message about war and death discouraging the people from engaging in war.

Conclusion

            Conclusively, the Aztec and the Spanish people trained to represent the political and religious beliefs in painted form differently. For instance, the Spanish valued gold as an object which should be represented in their work while the Aztec valued the use of feathers. Symbolism was highly evident in Spanish paintings as recorded in painting works such as the Pieta, whereby color was used to communicate emotion.