Art in Mexico
Preconquest through
20th Century
3 Major Phases
• I. Preconquest Art
• II. Colonial Art and Architecture
• III. Popular Artists in 19th and 20th Centuries
I. Preconquest
• A. Preclassic (3500 B.C. – 300 A.D.)
• B. Classic (300 A.D. – 900 A.D.)
• C. Postclassic ( 900 A.D. – 1521 A.D.)
Preclassic: Las Remojadas
• Around 1500 B.C. in Southern Mexico
• Human figures made of baked clay or mud, painted with “chapopote”
• Smiling figures, probably used for rituals and ceremonies
• Figures of women who died giving birth
Preclassic: Olmecs
• 1200 B.C. – 600 A.D. • Lived in what is now the southern
part of Mexico, near the Gulf of Mexico
• Created many sculptures such as the “Olmec Heads” , animal spirits, and small human figures
Classic: Teotihuacan
• “Ciudad de los dioses” (150-750 A.D.)
• Talud-Tablero style buildings with painted stucco
• Painted murals of gods, nature, and animal spirits
• Figures of humans, gods, and masks made from stone, jade, and obsidian
Classic: El Tajin
• 600 – 1100 A.D. in Central Veracruz
• May have been built by the Totonacs
• Talud style architecture• Grecas and nichos• Art related to “juego de pelota”
Postclassic: Quiahuiztlan
• 1100 – 1521 A.D. in Central Veracruz
• Built by the Totonacs• Small “templos”, possibly used for
sacrifices to the dead• Nichos, evidence of influence from
El Tajin
Postclassic: Zempoala
• 1200 – 1521 A.D. in Central Veracruz
• Built by the Totonacs• Unique use of river rocks instead of
cut stone• Design stamps of animals
Postclassic: Tenochtitlan
• 1325 – 1521 A.D.• Built by the Aztecs• Murals and paintings of ancient
gods such as Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, and Huitzilopochtli
• Animal and human figures such as eagles made of stone and obsidian