Power & Piety: Spanish Colonial Art includes 57 sumptuous paintings, sculptures, furniture, and silver objects produced in the Spanish Caribbean between 1680 and 1820. e works are drawn from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection and exemplify the mastery attained by colonial artists as well as the rich diversity of themes, styles, and materials of Spanish Colonial art.

As Spanish Americans grew a uent from cattle ranching and the trade of tobacco, cocoa, and sugar cane, a thriving market for religious works of art – both public and domestic – grew among the port cities of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Canary Islands en route to Spain. Rich supplies of precious metals, rare pigments, and native woods allowed highly skilled artists and artisans of the Spanish Caribbean to create luxury goods that competed with those imported from Europe. is exhibition sheds light on the daily life and religious practices of Latin Americans from all economic backgrounds, as well as the nature of commercial exchange in the region, through a selection of works from artists working in Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Bolivia, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and beyond.

Power & Piety is lled with works of ne and decorative art created for the many churches that populated Latin America, religious works of art created for the home, and objects intended for private devotional use. Ranging from paintings of saints to furniture used in devotional practices, these works illuminate how both piety and social ambition fueled the production and conspicuous consumption of religious art in these culturally rich societies. Not long ago, Spanish Colonial art was viewed as a minor post- script to the pre-Columbian masterworks from an earlier era in Latin American art history. However, recent interest in the intermingling of populations, iconographies, and materials has led to a new appreciation of this fascinating genre as well as its relevance to Latin American cultural studies.

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