“Construir Una Imagen. Visión Europea del Indígena Americano” was written by María del Mar Ramírez Alvarado and published in 2001. The book presents a detailed document that illustrates different images of the Native Americans spread across Europe from the end of the fifteenth century to the start of the seventeenth century. Even though few details are provided in the images of culture of the native Indians, there is limited information gained from it; one can determine the culture, character, and social construction of the image displayed; thus, they help create a perception. Unlike numerous books where most information is displayed through writings, Alvarado uses a unique writing style to present her ideas.
Alvarado’s main aim in writing the book is to illustrate how the initial American representations directly evoked the beliefs and memories of medieval and classical images. She begins by setting a platform for investigating the pictures collected between the sixteenth century and how the drawings were produced when there was no proper mechanism for documenting images to enhance communication. For instance, she illustrates the invention of printing among other important writings.1 She also expresses the improvements in painting and engraving throughout the sixteenth century through to the seventeenth century. Moreover, she demonstrates the development of artificial techniques in the visual arts, an improvement that is continued to be witnessed in the later centuries. In short, she uses a unique style by facilitating the audience access to both visual images and narratives in illustrating the history and the modernity of the changes that occurred in the art industry.
Maria del Mar Ramirez Alvarado has a rich history in dealing with images and visual arts and this has greatly influenced her presentation of ideas and argumentative scheme. Most of the images and the analysis and interpretation of the visuals in the book are influenced by her academic background in analyzing visuals. As a result, she provides in-depth argument using basic words. This still can be linked to information obtained from her education, which demonstrates that a single image can contain numerous information, making it easy to communicate quickly in an effective way. For instance, some of her illustrations contain numerous themes in a single piece of visual art. Therefore, the book is interesting and rich in information because it is largely influenced by the author’s academic background.
Additionally, Alvarado establishes clarity by presenting clear themes in her book “Construir Una Imagen. Visión Europea del Indígena Americano”. In chapters 2 and 3, the themes area fully exhausted with clarity, making it easy to understand. The first theme illustrated is the imagery of the earth concerning its roundness.2 The theme can be easily picked out from these chapters without one struggling to understand. The second theme demonstrated is the European myths of paradise and the fountain of youth. However, it is shortly described clearly, making it easy to interpret even with a juvenile who may not have any idea of interpreting images. The final theme discussed in the book with immense clarity is the bizarre mythical beings used to illustrate native inhabitants of the Americas for a European audience. In short, the book exhibited the chronology of events in an explicit manner by using sources that are carefully and diligently discussed.
Moreover, Alvarado carefully engraves the Native Americans based on mentioned themes, and this also makes the book shows a lot of coherency. In other words, she uses major themes to build on the minor ideas such as allegories of the American continent, first contacts, cannibalism, dress and adornments, and idolatry.3 In short, she illustrates that the people of Europe who lived in the sixteenth century understood the real issues affecting the American continent using images that have two themes, the major and minor themes. Furthermore, although the themes are embedded in a single image, the author demonstrates the distinction between the themes. For instance, the first impression of the images selected is those that the chroniclers and the travelers create. In contrast, the second theme is denoted by the artists and the editors who produced the images.4 Thus, despite the compilation taking place differently, Alvarado demonstrates a clear distinction between the images, which makes it easy for the audience to interpret the text.
The main sources studied are art, literature and culture and history which were written by previous artists. Previous artists art studied the context of a piece of art and tried to find the reason behind the creation. In a similar way, the book borrows widely from different pieces of arts, for instance, the different types of dressing codes.5 All the images collected are also critically analyzed, and an interpretation of the piece is critically made just as previous artists did.
Additionally, the book follows the works of Burke, a 1990s scholar who provided in-depth history of modern Europe using visual arts. Although the texts written on the images are few, the literature behind the images is far-reaching similar to those of Burke. Therefore, the book employs wide use of literary devices to ensure that a wide audience is reached, and the readers can gather the information being displayed. In addition, the images provide a rich history of the native Indians in America. Therefore, the book draws its ideas from other authors who focus on the past culture and literature.
“Construir Una Imagen. Visión Europea Del Indígena Americano” uses literature review as methodology of collecting information. This technique makes the book rich information as it draws most of its information from different points instead of the stylistic devices borrowed from other authors; the information obtained from the other authors makes the book more authentic. For instance, the dress codes illustrated in the book were borrowed from authors that had written about the culture of the Native Americans several centuries ago.6 This, therefore, means that some of the information are authentic since they are based on firsthand account. In this context, it is an excellent piece for the public interested in understanding art, especially the transformation that has been experienced in the field.
In conclusion, “Construir Una Imagen. Visión Europea Del Indígena Americano” is an interesting book that employs a wide range of writing techniques. Although the author’s academic background influences it, Alvarado still balances the information obtained cleverly. Moreover, the main themes in the text are illustrated more simply and clearly, making it easy for the audience to determine the main points. Additionally, the wide use of images accompanied by literature breaks the boredom of reading the book. The books’ writing style is also highly borrowed from other authors who delved in history, literature culture, and visual arts. Therefore, it is a subtalar book for the public as it captures a variety of topics in a fascinating way.
Bibliography
Alvarado, María del Mar Ramírez. “Construir Una Imagen Visión Europea Del Indígena Americano.” (2001).
Footnotes
- María del Mar Ramírez Alvarado, “Construir Una Imagen Visión Europea Del Indígena Americano.” (2001).
- María del Mar Ramírez Alvarado, “Construir Una Imagen Visión Europea Del Indígena Americano.” (2001).
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- María del Mar Ramírez Alvarado, “Construir Una Imagen Visión Europea Del Indígena Americano.” (2001).
- Ibid.