What marks this painting as an example of syncretism?

1. Explain what you see in this image. Why do you think the artist put Mary in the mountain instead of on it?
2. What marks this painting as an example of syncretism?
3. Do you think this image is trying to push back against the colonial order, or supports it? Why? Do you think the artists was a European or a Native American Christian? Why? (We don’t know!)
Now look at the Chinese woodblock.
4. What specifically Chinese elements do you see in this image?
5. How do you think educated Chinese would have responded to this image?
6. How do you think European critics of the Jesuits would have reacted to this image?

Finally, think about the two sources together.
7. What are some elements that these images have in common?
8. Why do you think the Virgin Mary is an important part of both of these images? (She’s also prominent in European Christianity, and Christianity in Mughal India!)
9. What are the strengths and limits of these visual sources, as opposed to texts, as historians seek to understand the spread of Christianity (or other religions)?

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