Mercury Rising: US–Mexican Conflict in Alexander Edouart's Blessing of the Enrequita Mine

IF 0.3 2区 艺术学 0 ART
Monica Bravo
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Abstract

Alexander Edouart's Blessing of the Enrequita Mine of 1860 commemorates the discovery of a mercury vein in New Almaden, California. It pictures the mine's Anglo-American administrators, its primarily Mexican miners, and industry's impact upon the landscape. Despite the seemingly idyllic nature of the genre scene, the Enrequita Mine and its painted portrayal mark a contentious turning point in the economic and political relationship between the United States and Mexico in the mid-nineteenth century, one whose effects still reverberate today. Two moments of tension between the two nations frame this artwork: the US–Mexican War of 1846–48; and the United States v. Castillero court case and appeals (1857–63). Using an ecocritical approach situating the painting in the geopolitics of extraction, this essay contends that the artwork participated in these territorial disputes by constructing ethnic hierarchy, bolstering legal battles, and not only representing but engendering further capitalist exploitation of the land.

Abstract Image

水星上升:亚历山大·埃杜特的恩里克塔矿祝福中的美墨冲突
1860年,亚历山大·埃杜特的《恩奎塔矿的祝福》纪念在加利福尼亚州新阿尔玛登发现汞脉。它描绘了该矿的英美管理人员,主要是墨西哥矿工,以及该行业对景观的影响。尽管这一类型场景看似田园诗般,但恩奎塔矿及其绘画描绘标志着19世纪中期美国和墨西哥之间经济和政治关系的一个有争议的转折点,其影响至今仍在回响。两国之间的两个紧张时刻构成了这件艺术品的框架:1846-48年的美墨战争;以及美国诉卡斯蒂列罗案和上诉案(1857-63)。本文运用生态批判的方法,将这幅画置于提取的地缘政治中,认为艺术品通过构建种族等级制度、支持法律斗争,参与了这些领土争端,不仅代表而且导致了资本主义对土地的进一步剥削。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.70
自引率
20.00%
发文量
51
期刊介绍: Art History is a refereed journal that publishes essays and reviews on all aspects, areas and periods of the history of art, from a diversity of perspectives. Founded in 1978, it has established an international reputation for publishing innovative essays at the cutting edge of contemporary scholarship, whether on earlier or more recent periods. At the forefront of scholarly enquiry, Art History is opening up the discipline to new developments and to interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches.
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