Colonial Painting and the Control of the Senses

Abstract

In colonial times painting was one of the strategies used by the colonizing culture to place control mechanisms on the behavior of the individuals. In the XVII and XVIII centuries, a new awareness of the use of the senses emerged, which had to be duly channeled to further the order of the body social. Several visual representation techniques from the Baroque style were used in Neogranadine painting to teach about and illustrate on the correct use of the senses. In so doing, those Christian virtues which are necessary for the stability and endurance of the body  social would be secured.