Casta Paintings (Context for The Murmur of Bees)

In this painting, in the top left corner, an image is labeled "Español con India, Mestizo". This means a Spaniard who is born in Spain and an Indian woman makes a mixed-race child. It is seen through the image that the man is dressed in Spanish clothes and looks to be of some importance from the looks of his uniform. The woman is dressed in more ethnic clothing that resembles native garments. They produce a child who is of mixed race. The image displays how each parent interacts with the child. The parents seem to love the child. It can be perceived that there is no discomfort or problem…

In this casta painting, the description is "De Espanol, y Castiza, Espanol ." This means that there is a Spanish father, and a mother who was born from a Spanish and mestizo set of parents, and the mestizo parent was born from a Spanish and Indigenous set of parents, so the mother is mostly Spanish as well as the father. The painting shows both the parents and the child as very fair skinned, and dressed in traditionally Spanish clothes. They appear to be anpart of the upper class, and the house they are in is very elaborate and looks more expensive than some of the other paintings.…

This Casta painting is a part of the set at the Denver Art Museum. Its title, De Mulato, y Espanola Morisco means from a Mutallo and a Spaniard comes a Morisco. The man is this picture of a Mutallo, which means he is of African and Spanish descent, and his wife is from Spain. They together have a child which is classified as a Morisco. Some things that I noticed in this painting are that their home is plain and very messy. There is a bowl that is spilling something on the floor, and there appear to be dirty dishes on the floor and a hat. There are no decorations, just a wooden table and a…

The Casta paintings were created for a numerous set of purposes; however, one commonly tends to dominate the others, and that is the division of social groups within the Latin American society based on skin color. In order to understand the purpose of these paintings, it is important to break down the image. On the left, there is a man (Spaniard), who is shown to be wearing common Spaniard clothing. Both the man and the woman show a hint of wealth as the woman is wearing jewelry and what appears to be a nice dress. Not all women in the paintings wear as nice of a dress as the one shown in…

In the Casta painting De Espanol, e India, nace Mestiza, there is evident racial mixing occurring, as a native Mexican woman and a Spanish man created the child. This occurred with frequency in Mexico when the Spanish arrived, which blended both cultures and created a racial blur for many Mexicans today. In the painting, it is evident how different both Mexican and Spanish cultures are. For one, the woman is dressed in traditional native clothing unique to her tribe possibly, and the artist shows the native foods of Mexico. In comparison, the Spanish man wears formal attire…

One of the casta paintings that I looked at was casta painting number six, titles Morisco con Espanol Chico. In the painting, we have a man from the Spanish descent and a white woman who has created a child identified as a child from a Spanish descent. The father does have darker skin, and the mother has fairly white skin, and their child has darker skin. The father is wearing clothing that would tie him with the upper-class levels; he's wearing a coat with designs. He is also carrying a chicken; one would assume that he may have some land for his family. The wife is fully clothed in a…

One of the Casta paintings that I found was this one where we see, what appears to be, a mother, her children, and the father all interacting with one another. The interesting thing about this painting is we see a clear depiction of the mestizaje  because it is clear the children are mixed racially. It appears that the mother is of the Indigenous or Hispanic descent while the father is European. We can also tell a lot about clothing within this painting. The father is dressed in nice European clothing with a hat, sword/knife, and gloves which could indicate he is of a…

In the Casta painting, there is a man and woman with a child in the painting with the inscription "Espanol con Mora Mulato." The man is a fair-skinned Spaniard and the woman is a dark-skinned black woman. Their child is also dark-skinned. The family seems happy in the painting and the man has a smile on his face and a hand on the child's shoulder. This portrayal of a mixed race family is challenged by the novel The Murmur of Bees. In the passage where Nana Reja nurses the Morales' baby, Mr. Morales is shocked by her dark skin and comments on it. This asserts that dark-skinned…

This Casta painting by Miguel Cabrera illustrates the stark contrast between skin color/race. The characters in the painting are of similar, higher social standing depicted by their clothes. The different races are clearly integrated and friendly with one another. This portrayal is challenged by the novel, The Murmer of Bees, in which division does exit between classes and races, those with darker and lighter skin. We see this division in Nana Reja's interactions (or lack of) with the other characters in the novel thus far. People tend to keep their…

This is a picture of a set of Casta paintings by Francisco Clapera. They are very beautiful paintings, but beauty is far from their only quality. These paintings give us insight into the social standings of different races in New Spain. The best way to read these paintings is from left to right, in the top left the people have lighter skin tones, while on the bottom right they have a darker complexion. These paintings show a difference in the daily lives of these people based on the color of their skin. For the people in the top left corner, they are well dressed and are buying goods…

This Casta painting (circa 1775) by the Spanish artist, Fransisco Clapera,  gives a picture of a family in New Spain. The painting shows a smiling child as he plays with his dad, while his mother appears to be watching over him in a caring way, ensuring he doesn’t hit his head. The family dynamic depicted in the Casta painting highlights the harmonious culture of New Spain. There is a great family dynamic, but what other unspoken dynamics and stories are shown? This painting exemplifies the mixing and blending of races in marriage. The family dynamic of a fair-skinned man married…

The second Casta photo in this picture is labled "Mestizo con Española Castizo" this means a man of mixed race, of both Spanish descent and Amerindian. In this case, the child has a mother of Spanish descent and a father of three quarters Spanish and a quarter Amerindian. As depicted in the Casta painting, the family is most likely of higher class as you can see in their posture and the way they dress. They are also lighter skinned, which is considered "more beautiful" or rich and better of some sort. In relation to Nana Reya and Simonopio, you would most likely find them in a Casta…

I will be focusing on the titled Español con India Mestizo which this translates to Spanish with Idian Mestizo. In this painting one can see a difference between the women and male mainly in their race. There is a Spanish male, who is very well dressed. The male is more distant from the the women and the child. The women is a Mestizo who is dressed in more native clothing. There is clear distinction in race between the male and women and it clear that the male looks of a higher class then the women. The combination of the two of these figures is found in the child. I would say that this…

In the presented Casta Painting, there is a depiction of a Spanish colonial man and a Mestizo woman, with a child in her arms. The Spanish man seems to have some hierarchy within the ranks as he is clothed in more delicate clothes, which the Spanish would of worn compared to the natives or the slaves. The woman, herself, is dressed in extravagant clothes; however, she seemingly pays homage to her Mestizo culture by adding more vibrant colors and with her head accessories. Lastly, the child is marked with the combination of native and European characteristics, is clothed in a lavish…