Ilustrados y franciscanos: La iconografía de los indios amazónicos en el Perú del siglo XVIII

In this art history, Núria Sala i Vila explores the representation of otherness in the iconography of the people of the Peruvian Amazon during the eighteenth century. The author argues that what we see in most of these representations is actually a “double otherness” (doble alteridad)—which not only was the result of the gaze of an outsider but in most cases was generated by a third party without direct experience with the subjects they were depicting. This problem of studying Amazonian people through the lens of others is a well-known concern among scholars of the region; however, Sala i Vila demonstrates how images, as opposed to written texts, about the Amazon and its people were probably the most potent medium in disseminating knowledge during the eighteenth century. To accomplish this, the author examines both the observers, whether they be highland Andeans, Catalan missionaries, or scientific explorers, and the re-creation of...