Introduction
In the winter, we curl up with a cup of hot coco; in the summer, we eagerly eat chocolate ice cream. While the societal obsession with chocolate is not something we are complaining about, have you ever wondered how it came to be? Just a few centuries ago, chocolate did not exist outside Indigenous Mesoamerican cultures. This research explores how chocolate was used in Europe compared to the New World and how that is reflected in art. It further investigates how art embodies the cultural understanding of chocolate and what conditions, influences, and events led chocolate to become represented in particular ways. Through our data collection, we witnessed a variety of recurring themes that shaped cultural understandings and social negotiations of cacao. For example, cultures such as the French portrayed chocolate as a social tool. Conversely, across other European cultures, the working class was often represented in the harvest, preparation, and serving of cacao, while those consuming chocolate beverages were depicted with markers of prestige and wealth. Additionally, cacao has long standing ties with spirituality and religion from Mesoamerica to post-Columbian Spain and this history can be tracked through artistic renditions of chocolate.
It cannot be emphasized enough that chocolate is only a portion of the story, and this is by no means an exhaustive collection of cacao in art. There are many kinds of foodstuffs that have been transferred through cultures. We offer the idea of utilizing passive representations to show cultural exchange. Specifically, the focus is on the vitality of art in terms of historical research, and how art was the representation of this cultural exchange. The continuation of this research in regard to other foodstuffs that were culturally transferred and the analysis of art as evidence for that research is greatly encouraged and appreciated. We invite you to follow the structured path of our page, or explore inline with your own interests through the table of contents or tagged paths below.
It cannot be emphasized enough that chocolate is only a portion of the story, and this is by no means an exhaustive collection of cacao in art. There are many kinds of foodstuffs that have been transferred through cultures. We offer the idea of utilizing passive representations to show cultural exchange. Specifically, the focus is on the vitality of art in terms of historical research, and how art was the representation of this cultural exchange. The continuation of this research in regard to other foodstuffs that were culturally transferred and the analysis of art as evidence for that research is greatly encouraged and appreciated. We invite you to follow the structured path of our page, or explore inline with your own interests through the table of contents or tagged paths below.
