Latin American Baroque
Iberian Baroque reworked by Indigenous and mestizo craftsmen into dense, gilded church fronts
How to recognise it
- façade treated as a carved altarpiece
- interiors covered in gilded woodwork
- twisted Solomonic columns and estípites
- local plants and faces in the ornament
- whitewash set against dark stone or tiles
Why it emerged
The Church and the orders, Jesuits and Franciscans above all, built to convert and overawe Indigenous congregations, paid for by Mexican and Peruvian silver and Brazilian gold. Local carvers did the work and brought their own motifs.
Examples
Church of the Society of Jesus, Quito1605–1765An interior entirely sheathed in gilded carving, the high point of Andean BaroqueMexico City Metropolitan Cathedral1573–1813Largest cathedral in the Americas, built over 240 years; its Altar of the Kings epitomises Churrigueresque
Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, Ouro Pretoc. 1766–1794 · AleijadinhoBrazilian gold-rush Baroque: design and carving by the mulatto Aleijadinho, ceiling by Ataíde
Twelve Prophets, Sanctuary of Bom Jesus, Congonhas1800–1805 · AleijadinhoTwelve soapstone prophets, the greatest sculptural ensemble of colonial America
Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral1573–1813Largest cathedral in the Americas, built over 240 years; its Altar of the Kings epitomises ChurrigueresqueChurch of Saint Francis of Assisi, Ouro Pretoc. 1766–1794 · AleijadinhoBrazilian gold-rush Baroque: design and carving by the mulatto Aleijadinho, ceiling by AtaídeTwelve Prophets, Sanctuary of Bom Jesus, Congonhas1800–1805 · AleijadinhoTwelve soapstone prophets, the greatest sculptural ensemble of colonial AmericaMore in this style
- c. 1657–1674 Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, Lima
- c. 1692 First Dream — Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Meanwhile elsewhere
- Ife and Benin bronzes Africa
- Persian miniature Middle East
- Ming and Qing Porcelain Asia
- Classical Ottoman Architecture (Sinan) Middle East
- Mughal Art Asia
- Tented Churches Eastern Europe & Russia
- Baroque Europe
- Dutch Golden Age Painting Europe
- Ukiyo-e Asia
- Naryshkin Baroque Eastern Europe & Russia
- Rococo Europe
- Elizabethan Baroque Eastern Europe & Russia
- Neoclassicism Europe
- Romanticism Europe