Assignment 4B

The work of art that I chose is the "Baile de Conquista" It is a painting by Matias Gonzalez Chavajay.http://www.artemaya.com/collection/matias006.htm
Observation:
This painting is on canvas made with oil paints. It is the dance of the conquest in english. It is a picture of men with what might be masks and they are dancing with a woman also wearing a mask. There are natives in the background and they are standing in front of a church. There are many bright colors that remind me of latin art. It has beautiful mountains in the background and a tree in front of the church. The woman in the picture is supposed to be La melinche.http://www.artemaya.com/collection/matias006.htm
Interpretation:
I think that this is the depiction of how the later generation of mexicans see and feel towards La melinche.
I think it shows how the natives are all ignoring the indian princess and the conquistadores. I think that this may represent how the mexicans dismiss la melinche as someone that they do not respect because according to the article they are ignoring her and the other dancers. Does this mean that they want to forget her or that they want to ignore what has happened? Maybe this is a silent rebellion because they do not believe that she helped them avoid further blood shed. I think that if she had not intervened and helped Cortes negotiate with the neighboring tribes to help bring down the Aztecs, that there really would be more blood shed. On the other hand, had Cortes not been able to communicate he might have not been able to win the fight. He was outnumbered and the city of Tenochtitlan was larger than any the spaniards had ever seen before, with a population of over 100,000. This is one of those questions that may never be answered.
Judgement:
I chose this art because its confusion matches the story behind it. Was la melinche a hero or traitor? If she was a traitor did she really have a choice in the matter? She was a slave after all. Many people at that time were forced to live as slaves for others so, this may have been her only chance at survival. This picture could be seen as a celebration as well. It is not clear if the natives are mad at the dancers or happy to see them. They seem to be looking away rather than dealing with their presence. It is hard to see if the dancers are welcomed or not. I think that this confliction is what many Mexicans feel today. Conflicted about the colonization of their country.
Questioning:
Why were the dancers wearing black outfits. Is this color significant in some way?I know that they represent the colonizers but I wonder if the black outfits represent evil maybe?