An Influential Piece Of Art: The Virgin Of Guadalupe

The first piece of artwork I critiqued was the famous Virgin of Guadalupe. The Virgin of Guadalupe is currently exhibited in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The piece of art is not solely a painting, but an enconchado. It was made into wood, and it essentially creates a reflective surface that appears as moving. Also, I like how they explain their theory on the woman of the apocalypse and how it relates to this piece of art. It also implies that she was standing on the moon, showby by the angel on the bottom of the artwork, supporting her. Juan Diego was an indigenous man who who underwent a vision conquest in which the Virgin of Guadalupe spoke to him in his language, and requested for him to put a shrine in her honor at the top

I gained some insight from this piece of artwork. I chose to start with this video due to my background knowledge on the Virgin of Guadalupe. However, I obtained so much more knowledge after viewing this. The thing that was most striking to me was when Juan Diego presented his cloak to the bishop, not only did the requested roses fall, but also the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Next, I observed the Sun Stone documentary. The Sun Stone can be found at the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City. It’s unique because it has become the emblem of the modern day Mexican culture. I like how detailed the actual artwork really is. It has an extremely old style to it,, and is made out of stone. Some of the unique things I noticed were the counterclockwise suns, the four cardinal directions, and the meanings behind each of the symbols written on the piece of art. It is a vital piece to Latin American history for several reasons. It is indigenous due to the historical meaning it displays. It was discovered in 1790 when mexican citizens uncovered the stone and realized it was a representation of the Aztec

They represent Jaguar (1st sun), wind (2nd sun), rain (3rd sun, and water (4th sun). Also, each sun shows the manner of death. Additionally, the first sun is comprised of death by jaguars, followed by high wind death, death by rains of fire, and death by water. The thing I found most beneficial to my learning was learning about the 5th sun. The 5th sun prophesied that death by earthquakes will be the death of the current world we live in. The third piece of Art I exhibited was the Olmec Mask. The Olmec mask is found in the Museum of the Templo Mayor, at the main Aztec temple in current day Mexico City. Also, the olmec mask is a small, green, and stone sculpture face. It exhibits several character traits that were common to the Olmec people. It is made out of stone, and appears to have a greenish faint to it. It is old-style, but holds monumental value to a prehistoric culture. Consequently, the mask didn’t belong to the Aztecs, due to its age. It belonged to the Olmec culture that began to thrive between 1500 and 1200 B.C.E. It’s important because it is a prime example of several Olmec features, such as upturned