Old Missions, Southern Pacific
Item
-
Title
-
Old Missions, Southern Pacific
-
Description
-
Set against a grey-blue sky, with what appears to be a mountain in the distant background, is the cream-colored and red roofed depiction of the Santa Barbara Mission, CA. Gulls occupy the air between the mission and the mountain range in the background. Small figures occupy the stairs of the mission in the background while the foreground is occupied by eight individuals divided into two groups. The two groups are in turn situated to the right of the flowering foliage and palm trees of the mission's grounds. The first group of six, situated to the left of the poster as a whole, features one individual of indiscriminate gender, two young women, a young man, an elderly man, and a child. The second group of individuals located within the foreground appear to be a nun and a man in a brown robe.
This image appears to depict the end of a church service, with parishioners leaving the mission. The elderly or older man as well, as well as the child he has with him, seem to be conversing with the nun; the old man and child are facing the nun who is holding her hands in front of her body. As he is pictured slightly off to the right, as is the nun, the man in the brown robe is likely a friar or other religious figure. The young woman, depicted in the front and center of the poster, is clearly depicted as wearing makeup and sporting an elaborate hairstyle. In particular, blush and lipstick in tandem with her curly beehive-esque hairstyle. Such focus upon appearance supports the assertion that these individuals are indeed being depicted as leaving the mission after a church service, as the entirety of the discernible individuals, outside of the nun and the friar, are depicted wearing rather complicated or ornate clothing.
The sandstone Santa Barbara Mission of California stands as a cultural and historical landmark not only within the city of Santa Barbara, but the entire South Pacific. Established on the Feast of Saint Barbara, December 4, 1786 and the tenth of twenty-one California Missions to be founded by the Spanish Franciscans, this mission represents an important facet of South Pacific and Central American history: the movement of the Spanish into lands held by non-Christian Indigenous peoples. The importance of Christianity and structures like this mission are reincorporate by the dominant presence of the mission within the image. The Mission's commanding position and grand proportions, graceful lines and soft, blending colors all reinforce her title, "Queen of the Missions."
-
Contributor
-
Z. Sherman | zas7474@g.rit.edu
-
Language
-
English
-
Type
-
Poster
-
Identifier
-
Poster 900
http://albert.rit.edu/search~S3/?searchtype=c&searcharg=Poster+900&searchscope=3&sortdropdown=-&SORT=D&extended=0&SUBMIT=Search&searchlimits=&searchorigarg=cPoster+892
