Biombos mexicanos e identidad criolla

Abstract

The Mexican folding screen emerged in the seventeenth century as an expression of the tastes and concerns of the middle and upper groups in viceroyal society. This article seeks to reveal some of the secrets hidden in their paintings and reflect on the meanings with which their owners may have endowed them. A set of screens have been chosen with themes that relate to the formation of a Creole identity in Mexico. The research aims to understand why Conquista screens went from being a popular theme in the late seventeenth century to disappearing altogether in the mid eighteenth century. In other words, why did certain topics continue and evolve, while others vanished.