Abstract
This contribution questions the history of Mexican colonial art. First, it presents the historiography of Mexican colonial art from its beginnings up to the contemporary times.
Further, it shows how the implementation of European taxonomy and approaches of history and history of art influenced and, at the same time, distorted the image of colonial art not only in Mexico, but all over the Latin America. A regards the modernity, associated ideas, such as positivism, Darwinism and evolutionism (e.g. the idea of artistic styles) are discussed along with the introduction and use of European terms (e.g. high and low art, folk art), it also examines the connections with the constitution of national states in the 19th century, predominant ideology and colonialism.
Eventually, it aims to demonstrate that the approach towards colonial art and architecture based on the European theories and concepts related to the concept of modernity did not correspond to the specific American reality and led to the prioritization of documentary evidence written by Europeans over those written by Natives and to the persecution of the unique cultural identity of American art and architecture.