Mixtec Art

Tane Richardson

The Mixtec/Mixteca were a Native American civilization centred in the Oaxaca state of Mexico.

The work of Mixtec artisans who produced work in stone, wood and metal were well regarded throughout ancient Mesoamerica. Elaborating on the neighbouring Aztec styles of art,they produced fantastic manuscripts and clear surviving artwork, and influenced the international artistic style used from Central Mexico to Yucatan.

The Mixtecs wrote in minimalistic amalgams of

signs and pictures. Pictorial scenes would depict

historical events such as birth, marriage, war and

death. Written glyphs record the date of the

event and identify the people and places

involved.

Mixtec artistic style is characterized by their 

piercing profiles and sharp forms. Never a united

nation, their fierce warlike manner came 

through in their art. Reds, blues, black and 

yellows make up their earthy colour palette. 

Human figures feature demonically sharp 

tongues and intimidating masks. Animals are 

often depicted with spikes and thick tense 

outlines. Along with sharp geometric shapes, 

the Mixtec pictorial features linear formations of 

small circles in decorative accompaniment.

Mixtec pictorials hold faithful to square-based structure and linear pattern. Human figures in
Mixtec portrayals remain in strict relative scale to each other, defined with thickly lined
symbols. The colours have strikingly stark contrasts to each other as a sort of emphasis on cultural (and artistic) dominance. These bland colours, however disruptive to rhythmic flow,seem to unite the entire work based on the use of very few hues and no tonal gradations. Colour, line and form clash violently with contrast and combine to create fierce imagery of a culture driven by dominance, passion and war.

LINKS
http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/mi/Mixtec
www.ancientscripts.com/mixtec.html
http://members.aol.com/cabrakan/mixtec
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/mixtec.htm