 Morisco |
The difference in social class depicted
by these two paintings is striking and may indicate in some ways the purpose
behind their painting. In her article "Casta Paintings: Identity and Social
Stratification in Colonial Mexico", Ilona Katzew suggests that some Casta
Paintings were sent to Spain as part of the Criollos project of independence.
These paintings focused on New Spain as a land of wealthy, healthy, cultured
people who could and should rule themselves (10). The top picture could
easily  fall
into that category since it seems unlikely that a family with an African
father, a Native mother and a Lobo child would actually have been wealthy
enough during colonial times to dress as they are represented in the picture.
Instead, perhaps the painting is a fictionalized representation of the
people of New Spain intended to impress Peninsular Spaniards with the culture
of New Spain. The painting seems to be saying: "Look, even the people of
lowest racial status are cultured and attain wealth." On the other hand,
the second painting depicts a more everyday scene. This family makes its
table outside and seems to be coming from manual labor. The man's cloak
is stained and the woman's clothing suggests that she may be a servant
in an upper-class family's home. Perhaps because it shows a more
likely class status for this family during colonial times, this painting
was made to stay in Mexico for use in a parish or government office. |
The
Spanish saw Africans as volatile and in need of control (their fears about
African people were probably intensified by the half dozen slave revolts
that took place between 1530 and 1620). They feared that a union between
Africans and Natives (generally described as the Africans stirring up the
otherwise docile Natives) could upset their control. A lobo child, born
of one Native and one African parent, offered a concrete example of that
potential political and social union. Perhaps the Spanish fear of an African-Native
coalition had some influence in the application of "lobo" to children of
such a union. The wolf has long been a symbol of danger, chaos, and destruction
for Europeans. Though I know of no research making this specific link,
the term obviously held derogatory force and certainly marked the person
as having a strange and possibly dangerous ethno-racial heritage.
Mestiso
Mulatto