A garden party unfolds across a stunning biombo (folding screen) painted in Mexico City between 1720–30, then part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

But what exactly is a biombo?

A biombo is a folding screen that served as a room divider in elite homes. Learn more about how it functioned as a room divider and how its form was inspired by objects from Japan that came to colonial Mexico via the Manila Galleon trade.

This video is perfect for anyone looking to learn more about:

• Biombos

• Mexican art

• New Spain

• Colonial art

• Baroque art

• Folding screen

• Byobu

• Japanese influence in Latin America

• Spanish colonial art

• Manila Galleons

• Art History

• Latin American Art

Main Object: Garden Party on the Terrace of a Country Home, c. 1720–30 CE, folding screen, oil paint on canvas with gold, Mexico. Denver Art Museum.

CHAPTERS

0:00 What is a biombo and what is the Viceroyalty of New Spain?

0:47 Making biombos and experiencing them

1:05 Biombos in elite homes as room dividers

1:41 Typical subjects of biombos

1:56 Connections with Asian Art and Japanese folding screens on the Manial Galleon Trade