Cuzco School Painting, Virgin of Pomata
$38,500
Contact Yew Tree House at (212) 249-6612.
Virgin of Pomata, also referred to as Pachamama
Cuzco, Peru
Exceptional 18th Century Cuzco school depiction of the Virgin Mary and Christ child, both wearing feathered headdresses and with angels surrounding her halo rays, he holding an orb, she holding the infant in one hand along with a rosary and crucifix and a lily in the other, her hair cascading over her floral engraved gown, the border decorated with various flowers, with more angels at their feet.
This work is very interesting because on the surface it is depiction of a religious icon of the colonial power created by the forcefully “converted“ native population. It is, however, a subversive work as many of the symbols and even the form depict the Inca goddess Pachamama, literally Earth Mother, who was worshiped by the Incas and was associated with the harvest and all other things given by the earth.
The town of Pomata, situated above Lake Titicaca in the highlands of Peru, was once a popular Christian pilgrimage shrine.
The Cuzco School: The Cuzco School (Escuela Cuzqueña) was a Roman Catholic artistic tradition based in Cusco, Peru (the former capital of the Inca Empire) during the Colonial period of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. It is considered the first artistic center that systematically taught European artistic techniques in the Americas, and was the most distinctive major school of painting in Spain's American colonies.
- Period
- 18th Century And Earlier
- Material
- Paint
- Country
- United States
- Condition
GOOD
- Dimensions
-
Height 78 inches
Width 50.5 inches
Depth 4 inches