HAA 292 – Colonial Art of Mexico and the Andes

Thomas Cummings

Cuzco, once the center of the Inca Empire, became a major colonial Peruvian city unlike any other in which the royal descendants of the Inca lived and ruled along with Spaniards. In 1650 an earthquake destroyed most of the city’s buildings. Between 1650 and 1700 most of the city and the surrounding pueblos were re-built. This is part due to the remarkable efforts of the bishop of Cuzco Mollinedo. At the same conflicts between the bishop and the cabildo of the cathedral and between the bishop and the Jesuits focused upon power and authority as the re-building took place. Still more surprising, perhaps, most of the architects and painters for this renewal were Indians. This pro-seminar will exam both the architectural campaigns and the various genres of paintings that came to fruition during this remarkable period in which the local takes on a distinct identity from the center within a complex political and cultural struggles over power and its representation. Cuzco will be the focus of this course, but we will put its painting, sculpture and architecture into comparison with other 17th century cities such as Lima, Quito, and Mexico City.