As Spain colonized South America, art was one of the sprawling empire’s tools to explain theology, assert power and, in some cases, even preside over government functions.
Sixty-three such works, created between 1600 and 1850, and spanning the geography of present-day Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, are now on view at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows Museum.
“Spectacles of Power and Faith: Colonial South American Art from the Thoma Foundation” includes recent acquisitions that have rarely, if ever, been seen publicly before.
The Thoma Foundation
The Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation lends its collection of art of the Spanish Americas, Japanese bamboo, post-war painting and sculpture, as well as digital and media art, to museums and galleries around the world.
The foundation opened its exhibition space and headquarters on Cedar Springs in 2023, following its proprietors' move to Dallas in 2021.
Marilynn Thoma began her career in brand management for Quaker Oats before overseeing the marketing for the Thomas' pinot noir winery, Van Duzer Vineyards. Carl Thoma is a managing partner and founder of Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm focused on technology acquisitions.
The art collectors and philanthropists established their foundation in 2014, but their collection began decades earlier, in 1975.
While many of her peers were collecting from central America, Thoma began collecting work from South America in 1997.
Marilynn Thoma "was kind of a visionary in starting to collect art from South America,”
said Verónica Muñoz-Nájar, associate curator of Art of the Spanish Americas at the Thoma Foundation and co-curator of the exhibition.
Nearly 30 years later, the Thoma Foundation has more than 250 pieces in its collection of South American art from the Spanish Americas — the largest of its kind in the U.S.
Opportunity to collaborate
Adam Jasienski is a co-curator of this exhibition and an associate professor of art history at SMU's Meadows School of the Arts.
Three years ago, he and Muñoz-Nájar met, and they started thinking of ways their home institutions might collaborate.
The result of that meeting is this show and a corresponding seminar for SMU graduate students the pair taught prior to the exhibition’s opening.
“What we have around us is certainly the most significant collection of South American colonial art that I've seen, and it may be one of the best in the world, certainly in private hands,” said Amanda Dotseth, director of the Meadows Museum.
Jasienski and Muñoz-Nájar have several favorite artworks within the exhibition. Below are three pieces that are not to be missed before the show closes in January. It heads to Princeton University and the University of Notre Dame after that.
Veil of Veronica
This painting by an unknown artist is one of the few surviving images of Christ with three faces from the 17th century.
As the Spanish colonized South America and spread their religion, they realized the concept of the Holy Trinity as three entities in one was hard for new converts to grasp.
Artists attempted to explain the theology through paintings. However, the Vatican did not approve of these images.
“This iconography was banned because it was seen as monstrous,” Muñoz-Nájar said.
Pope Urban VIII condemned these depictions, and some paintings were burned or destroyed
following his declarations.
“We don't know if those prescriptions from the Vatican arrived [to this area] or maybe the person that had it decided to keep it hidden,"
Muñoz-Nájar said. "But it's a really spectacular and kind of strange piece.”
Portrait of King Charles II of Spain as a Child
Another rare image in this exhibition is a 17th century painting of King Charles II of Spain by an unknown artist.
Charles ascended to the throne as a boy following the death of his father. During the early years of his reign, his mother served as regent, but this painting asserts the young king’s power.
“He is standing with his hand on the globe, with a lion at his feet, with broken spears on the floor. It's as grand as you can make a boy of 10, right? So, the portrait is working overtime,” Jasinski said.
For nearly 300 years, portraits of Spanish kings were widely distributed throughout the South American colonies.
“You couldn't throw a rock without hitting a portrait of a Spanish king. Every town hall, every governor's office, even many private homes would have these,” said Jasienski.
No Spanish king during this period of colonization traveled to the Americas, so images served as stand-ins.
“It could pardon rebels. It could inaugurate new buildings. People treated the portrait of the king as though the king were actually present in it,” Jasienski said.
“You weren't allowed to look directly at it, you had to lower your eyes, you had to take your hat off in front of it, so really it was much more than just an image.”
Countless portraits of Spanish kings were destroyed during various Latin American independence movements.
Our Lady of Guadalupe of Extremadura of Sucre
Paintings and sculptures of Virgin Mary were common. Believers often attached gems and pearls to her image to show gratitude for her miraculous works. But the weight of jewelry caused damage, so some of the works were reinforced with other materials.
In this piece, by an unknown artist, the Virgin’s clothing and regalia are made of an ornate polychromed wood, and painted silver plates of Mary and Jesus’ hands and faces peek through.
“This is a pretty unique piece,” said Muñoz-Nájar. “We only know about three [that] exist, so it's pretty amazing that one is in the collection.”
Details: “Spectacles of Power and Faith: Colonial South American Art from the Thoma Foundation” runs through Jan. 24, 2027 at SMU’s Meadows Museum, 5900 Bishop Blvd., Dallas. Tickets are $12 for adults; $10 for ages 65 and over; $4 for non-SMU students and free for SMU faculty, staff and students, Meadows Museum members and ages 18 and under.
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