Castas Engravings

Casta paintings and engravings became popular at the beginning of the 18th century. They were often commissioned for export to Spain to depict and classify the miscegenation of groups in the Mexico. While information such as diet, clothing, daily life and customs were included, the engravings included reinforced the delineation of the social classes. These lithographs are most likely engravings from the book, De Espanol y Indio nace Mestizo, Coleccion de Trajes de Espana, created after the 1770s by Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla (1734-1790).