Final answer:
The family model of a casta painting is based on social and racial hierarchies in colonial Spanish America. These paintings depict mixed-race families arranged in hierarchical order, with the purer race at the top and the unconverted Indigenous at the bottom.
Step-by-step explanation:
The family model of a casta painting is based on the social and racial hierarchies in colonial Spanish America. These paintings depicted different mixed-race families, with each image showing a family group consisting of parents of different races and their biological child. The paintings were arranged in a hierarchical order, with those of purer race at the top and the unconverted Indigenous at the bottom.
For example, a casta painting might show a Spanish man, an Indigenous woman, and their mixed-race child. The clothing and accessories of the individuals in the painting were used to signify their social status and occupation. The purpose of these paintings was to reinforce the idea of the superiority of Spaniards and to rank people based on their racial mixture.