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Although there was not yet a country known as Mexico, the history of Mexican art typically begins with the Pre-Columbian era prior to Latin America's colonization by Spain. The art from this era usually falls under the larger category of Mesoamerican art which includes all the art created by native societies in the regions known today as Mexico and Central America. The Aztecs and Mayans were two of the larger of these societies that were located in what is now Mexico although the Mayans were also widespread throughout the region. The art from this period is primarily represented in the form of ceramics and architecture and the paintings that decorate them. Much of the art from this time has been unearthed at arqueological sites throughout Mexico such as Teotihuacán, Monte Albán, Chichén Itzá, and Tulúm. It is interesting to note that writing and art were not separate entities at the time as seen in the detailed glyphs used as decoration and communication. The art was primarily used by these societies as a form of communication or worship with their various Gods. 
With the arrival of the Spanish conquest in the 16th century came the introduction of the art techniques and styles of Europe which transformed Mexican art. For almost the entire colonial period, the majority of Mexican art was modeled after Spanish Baroque and other styles of European art (Renaissance, Moorish, etc.). Initially, if the work was created by a native Mexican artist, it often retained some elements of indigenous art mixed with the European. The art of the time was almost entirely religious as it was used as decoration in the newly constructed Catholic churches, and to convert the indigenous population to Catholicism. Much or the art was commissioned by the church as well as wealthy private patrons much like Renaissance Italy. This heavily European colonial art continued to dominate Mexican art through the 18th century and beginning of the 19thcentury until the Mexican War of Independence from 1810 to 1821.
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