This painting and its pair (see M.2025.32.2) are not portraits of individuals but of different racial types. In fact, they are groundbreaking precursors of the famous casta (caste) paintings—a distinctive and highly complex genre invented in Mexico in the eighteenth century to depict multiracial families (see M.2014.223, M.2009.62, M.2011.20.1, M.2011.20.2, and M.2011.20.3). Intended to be exported to Europe to provide a glimpse of colonial life, the works are the first to codify Mexico’s diverse population and inventive sartorial practices.
The woman wears a combination of local and European clothing, including a diaphanous Indigenous blouse (huipil) with intricate geometric and animal motifs, trimmed with expensive Flemish lace. This loose blouse continued to be worn after the Conquest by Indigenous women, but also by Creole (Spaniards born in the Americas) ladies as a sign of their pride in the land. Her head covering, which recalls those worn by women of African descent in Mexico, is adorned with a carnation that symbolizes marriage. She is also festooned with an abundance of pearls, associated with the legendary riches of the Americas since the Conquest.
Manuel de Arellano came from a prominent dynasty of artists active in Mexico City. He trained with his father, Antonio de Arellano (1638–1714), and by 1690 he was working independently and creating paintings marked by a great deal of experimentation. His informal depictions of racial types developed during a period of mounting social and racial tensions in Mexico City, when Europeans believed the colony to be inhabited by unruly hybrids. Arellano’s works responded to these concerns by constructing a view of a mixed yet orderly and prosperous society.
Ilona Katzew
2025
