ABSTRACT
The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw extraordinary transformations in world art thanks in part to the changes brought about by Iberian voyagers. Artistic production and circulation in the Spanish and Portuguese territories in America, Asia, and Africa involved new and fascinating objects and processes. Each of the various territories where Portuguese and Spaniards established themselves had its own characteristics and in each of them the forms of settlement varied according to attending circumstances. This means, of course, that the artistic and architectural solutions developed in each location were not necessarily similar to those that emerged in other areas. Furthermore, while geography was one of the main variants, the other one was time. The solutions that were deemed valid in the early sixteenth century were no longer necessarily optimal 100 years later. The Spanish and Portuguese understanding of their imperial projects in 1550 did not necessarily survive intact and unchanged in 1680, while the nature of the local societies that had come into contact with them also changed significantly.
