From Spaniard and Mestiza, Castiza

This is a depiction of a family where the father, mother and child are identified by inscriptions which make reference to their crossbreeding from their various native, European and African ethnic branches. It is representative of a painting style developed in the viceroyalty of New Spain throughout the 18th century. This genre is known as “casta paintings” and is organised in series, each of which generally comprises 16 paintings in which the most common unions are shown. This canvas belongs to a set of works distributed among various collections. It exemplifies the fact that the attire and the adornments on the figures, the activity they are performing and the surroundings in which the action unfolds, act as fundamental elements to identify the social status of the people depicted. Miguel Cabrera, the artist of this set, signed and dated the last canvas in 1763, and he was the painter best recognised by his contemporaries. He had a great number of disciples and followers, who were often inspired by the maestro’s models.