Lienzo de Quauhquechollan

The Lienzo de Quauhquechollan ( "Cast of Quauhquechollan " ) is a painted sheet of the Nahua from the 16th century. It is a product obtained from two Nahua image documents that tell the Spanish conquest of Guatemala, and one of the first surviving maps of present-day Guatemala.

The Lienzo was probably painted in the Ciudad Vieja, in the Guatemalan Department of Sacatepéquez, of Nahua from Quauhquechollan, today Huaquechula, Puebla in Mexico. This had allied themselves with the Spaniards and supported the conquistador Jorge de Alvarado, brother of Pedro de Alvarado on his campaign from 1527 to 1529. 's Allies from Quauhquechollan settled then in the Guatemalan highlands down and painted the Lienzo that their participation in the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Guatemala portrays. The original is currently at Casa de Alfeñique museum in Puebla.

Production

The Lienzo was painted in the 1530s. It consists of 15 individually painted bed sheets that have been sewn together to form a large map. The parts are of different sizes and production methods and show some that they were reused. The entire Lienzo de Quauhquechollan measures 3.25 × 2.35 m. The Lienzo was implemented in a centrally - mexikanishen style and its conventions of indigenous art to represent a mixture of Nahuatl and Spanish themes. The focus of the map is within the boundaries of present-day Guatemala, especially around the area of Chimaltenango and the colonial capital of Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala. The Lienzo focuses on the role of Quauhquechollan allies in the conquest, her travels and the battles in which they have participated. It was manufactured by more than one artist, as evidenced by differences in style in painting.

Origin

The oldest mention of the Lienzo, under the name Lienzo de la Academia de Puebla ( "Cast of Puebla Academy " ), dates from the last decade of the 19th century, where it is in the collection of the Academia de Pintura de Puebla ( " Academy painting from Puebla " ) was, however, its origin was unknown. It contained several stapled to the images list with texts written in Latin alphabet, which, however, were poorly received.

Content

The upper left corner of the Lienzo de Quauhquechollan shows a local glyph that represents Quauhquechollan, combined with the Habsburg coat of arms. Among the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is shown as he hugged a quauhquecholtekischen nobility welcome; both are accompanied by their retinue and the scene shows an exchange of gifts. The following scene shows Jorge de Alvarado to the head of a large army, which moves away from Quauhquechollan; the army itself is mixed from Spanish and Nahua. All Quauhquecholteken shown are equipped with Spanish swords, which is a privilege that was granted only a few indigenous allies of the conquistadors. The route of the army on their march to Guatemala is described among others by the stations Tehuantepec in Oaxaca and the Soconusco region in the lowlands of Chiapas; both in present-day Mexico. In Guatemala, passes through the army Retalhuleu, Zapotitlán and Suchitepéquez and there, a series of battles, although Pedro de Alvarado had conquered this region previously.