Abstract
Colonial mural art in the Yucatán Peninsula represents a cultural intersection where Christian iconography and Maya artistic traditions converged in a complex visual dialogue. Maya Christian Murals of Early Modern Yucatán (Texas University Press, 2024) offers a detailed analysis of these pictorial expressions, exploring how Indigenous artists reinterpreted colonial impositions by preserving ancestral techniques, materials, and symbolism. The book proposes a rereading of the murals in Franciscan convents, highlighting their role not only as tools of evangelization but also as evidence of cultural resistance and adaptation.
This review, titled Reimagining Cultural Intersections: A Book Review of Maya Christian Murals of Early Modern Yucatán, critically examines the book from a multidisciplinary perspective. The analysis is divided into three sections, reflecting the collaboration between the authors of this review. Dr. Lilia Lizama discusses the first three chapters, focusing on the relationship between mural art and policies of reducción and evangelization. Dr. Lilia Fernández analyzes the middle chapters, exploring iconographic transformations and the materiality of pigments. Finally, Dr. José Israel Herrera introduces the review and concludes with a general assessment of the book’s contribution to the study of art, religion, and colonialism in Mesoamerica.
This joint analysis aims to highlight the book’s main contributions as well as its possible limitations, evaluating its relevance for the study of colonial art and the agency of Maya artists in constructing a hybrid visual language. Through this critical review, we seek to contribute to the ongoing debate on the interaction between power, spirituality, and resistance in the colonial Mesoamerican world.
Recommended Citation
Fernández Souza, Lilia PhD; Lizama Aranda, Lilia Lucia Dr.; and Herrera, José Israel
(2025)
"Reimagining Cultural Intersections: A Book Review of Maya Christian Murals of Early Modern Yucatán, Texas University Press, 2024.,"
Journal of Maya Heritage: Vol. 5, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.62915/2995-7427.1017
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mayaheritage/vol5/iss1/3
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