Un rasgo del padre Bartolomé de las Casas

What it is

This is an oil painting from 1889 by the Spanish artist Sebastián Gelabert. It shows a scene set in the Americas during the Spanish conquest, with the friar Bartolomé de las Casas raising his hand toward a kneeling Indigenous man, while an armed conquistador rests a hand on the man's head.

Why it matters

Painted in late-19th-century Spain, this work reflects how Las Casas was remembered as a heroic defender of Indigenous peoples. It also shows, through its imagery, the violent power the Spanish conquistadors held over Indigenous people, the very abuse Las Casas spent his life protesting.

Look closer

• What is each figure doing, and what does their posture suggest about power in this scene?
• Why might a 19th-century Spanish painter choose this subject, decades after Las Casas lived?
• What does the painting leave out about the violence of colonization?