COMUNICACIÓN

The doctoral thesis Pintura, comercio e intercambio cultural entre Sevilla y Nueva España (1620–1640), by Dr. Ester Prieto Ustio, has been awarded the 9th Research Prize to Ibero-American Doctoral Theses, organised by the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation. This study offers an in-depth understanding of the cultural and artistic exchanges between Spain and New Spain, highlighting the significance of transatlantic trade in the 17th century. (02/04/2025)

The winning thesis is based on three main axes: the circulation of cultural objects and the transatlantic art market between Seville and the New Spanish territories; the mobility of European painters to this American space; and artistic consumption in New Spanish society, with a particular focus on painting. Its aim is to deepen knowledge and enhance the appreciation of these dynamics. The research is approached from the perspectives of cultural history and visual culture, employing an interdisciplinary methodology grounded in documentary, bibliographical, and artistic sources primarily from Spain, Mexico, and Portugal.

The thesis is structured into four main sections. The first examines the ornamentation of Spanish ships in the early modern period. The second focuses on the circulation of cultural objects and the American art market, exploring the presence and use of artworks on ships, the shipment of luxury pieces from the Iberian Peninsula to the Americas and Asia, and the art trade between Seville and the American continent from the perspective of the artists involved. The third section analyses the biographies, careers, and works of European painters who migrated to the viceroyalty of New Spain between 1600 and 1640. Finally, the fourth part studies artistic consumption and collecting in New Spain from the second half of the 16^th century to the first half of the 17^th century.

The award ceremony took place during the 7^th International Congress on Relations between Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. Digitalisation, Artificial Intelligence, and International Relations: A Challenge for Global Governance, held at the Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe.

Ester Prieto holds a PhD in History and a degree in Art History from the University of Salamanca, as well as a Master’s in Andalusian Artistic Heritage and its Ibero-American projection. She is currently a professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Valladolid.

She has undertaken a research stay at the Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla, supported by the excellence scholarship of the Government of Mexico for foreigners and the mobility scholarship of the Ibero-American University Association for Postgraduate Studies. She has been awarded the Young Award for Scientific Culture, granted by the Seville City Council and the Spanish National Research Council, in the Humanities and Social Sciences category, as well as the Alvargonzález Foundation – Naval Museum Scholarship.

She is the editor of the publication La construcción de imaginarios. Historia y cultura visual en Iberoamérica (1521–2021) and the coordinator of four books on collecting, patronage, and the art market. She has published articles and book chapters with institutions such as the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the National Sculpture Museum, and the College of Tlaxcala, as well as various universities. She has also been involved in the organisation and coordination of academic events in Spain and Mexico.

 THE FINALISTS AND THE JURY

In this ninth edition of the award, organised by the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation, the following works were selected as finalists: El derecho de las relaciones exteriores y la aplicación del derecho internacional de los derechos humanos en América Latina: el caso de Argentina, by Ignacio Gastón Perotti Pinciroli; The Role of Summits in the Development of Interregional Cooperation Programs between the European Union and Latin America: The Cases of Eurosocial and Euroclima, by Lizeth Vanessa Ayala Castiblanco; Los gobernadores generales del Estado de Brasil durante la monarquía hispánica (1583-1641): redes, acción política y circulación, by Sergio Moreta Pedraz; and Antígona: memorias y resistencias. Las representaciones del mito en las teatralidades a ambos lados del Atlántico, by Antonella Sturla Meilán.

The jury for the 9^th Research Prize to Ibero-American Doctoral Theses was composed of Sigfrido Vázquez Cienfuegos, professor of American History at the University of Extremadura; Rosa Mª Perales Piqueres, professor of Art History at the University of Extremadura; Gabriel Moreno González, professor of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Extremadura; Carmen Fernández-Daza, director-general of the Santa Ana University Centre and full member of the Royal Academy of Extremadura of Letters and Arts; and Juan Carlos Moreno Piñero, director of the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation, who chaired the jury.

9^TH RESEARCH PRIZE TO IBERO-AMERICAN DOCTORAL THESES

The European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation established the Research Prize to Ibero-American Doctoral Theses to recognise the best doctoral thesis that, having been defended in the last two years in Spain, Portugal, or any Ibero-American or European country, and having obtained the highest academic distinction, addresses the relations between Spain, Portugal, or Europe with Ibero-America and vice versa, from a historical, cultural, social, scientific, economic, or any other field of study. The award is endowed with €3,000 and the publication of the doctoral thesis.