This is a groundbreaking exploration of the function and significance of Aztec monumental art and religious spectacles. When the Aztec Empire emerged to dominate central Mexico from 1460 to 1519, vast amounts of tribute wealth flowed into the capital city of Tenochtitlan, enabling artists and architects to create sophisticated works on a monumental scale. Confronted by a civilization without precedent, some Spanish conquistadors and missionaries looked to the classical past for explanations - with parallels being drawn between two great empires, the Aztec and the Roman. While many studies dwell on the Aztec gods and the bloody rituals performed in their honor, this groundbreaking volume examines little-known episodes in which classicism mediated a dialogue both within and between Mesoamerica and Spain, allowing the authors to shed new light on the function of monumental art and religious spectacles.
- ISBN10 1606060074
- ISBN13 9781606060070
- Publish Date 20 April 2010
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 17 August 2024
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Getty Trust Publications
- Imprint Getty Publications
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 112
- Language English