• DOI:10.1086/RESvn1ms25608840
• Corpus ID: 192220187

Style and Substance, or Why the Cacaxtla Paintings Were Buried

@article{Brittenham2009StyleAS,
  title={Style and Substance, or Why the Cacaxtla Paintings Were Buried},
  author={Claudia Brittenham},
  journal={RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics},
  year={2009},
  volume={55-56},
  pages={135 - 155}
}

• Claudia Brittenham
• Published 1 March 2009
• Art
• RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics

Cherished from the moment of creation through the moment of burial and beyond, painting was the most prominent and the most prized art form at the Central Mexican city of Cacaxtla between a.d. 650 and 950. Murals articulated a vision of the Cacaxtla polity, depicting its most memorable triumphs, its social and economic foundations, and the sacred cosmovision that sustained its inhabitants. The distinctive style of these paintings was as important as their content in crafting a visible history and identity for the city. While all of the Cacaxtla paintings were intended for visual consumption, that was not their sole purpose. The careful attention that these paintings received when buried underneath new construction suggests that they possessed deep symbolic significance for members of the Cacaxtla community, a significance that extended beyond the realm of the visible, encompassing the materiality of the murals as well as their appearance. This practice of intentional protection sheds light on the nature of the Cacaxtla painting tradition, and more broadly, on the status of images in Mesoamerica.