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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. 
Following Mexico's Independence from Spain, the art being produced in the country did not significantly change. The art institutions that were created by the Spanish before the war were reinstituted and Mexican art continued to imitate European styles. While there were small movements towards the inclusion of indigenous subjects and rejection of colonialist ideas, the European influences remained strong. Much of the movement made was towards a more realist style, but in general, the 19th century is considered to be one of the weaker periods of Mexican art.
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