and Yachacuscamcani
Difference,
Sacredness,
Localizing
in a Colonial Andean
Painting
Stella Nair
Nuestra
Se?ora
de Montserrat
in the south-central
on
of an
the remains
houses
of what
imperial
of the
local
lies within.
colonial
Spanish
church
is built
in the
made
adobe
masks
parishioners,
town
Mudejar
extensive
ceiling.
of the
testi
One of the paintings, approximately nine by thirteen feet
(three by fourmeters), depicts the titular saint of the parish
set within an elaborate landscape (Fig. 2). Dating to 1693,
this painting imaginatively represents theVirgin of Montser
rat,
a
Catalan
venerated
Iberian
figure,
of Montserrat.
mountain
of
most
The
intriguing
aspect
is how it conflates drastically different
in the universal
landscapes
rat's cult.
scene
elaborate
in a setting featuring the acclaimed
religious figures and
of this composition
in an
The
of
space
of Montser
the Virgin
the
shows
painting
Virgin
foregrounded
a
an Andean
but also within
only within
Spanish
landscape
one filled with
Inca
commoners,
elites,
indigenous
imperial
Inca
vantito
a sacred
and
buildings,
The
indigenous
the
made
artist
Virgin
and dynamic period
artists
trained
traditions
artistic
pictorial
and
in Andean
European
their works,
This
practices.1
traditions
cultural
negotiations
Spanish
occupation.
during
indigenous
translated
practices
new
forms,
creating
mediation
indigenous
both
local
European
cross
and
the
artistic
encounter.
colonial
a
Through
careful
analysis
of
the
image, we will see the intricate and highly localized ways in
which
its
one
constructed,
landscape
dress,
community
in the form
status,
narrative
ference,
and
nature.
so, Chivantito's
the
Latin
architecture,
iconography,
The
colonial
and
encounter.
examples
In
the
of local
process,
landscape
it presents
painting
in
The Virgin of Montserrat in Catalonia and the Andes
During the colonial period in the Andes
(approximately
1532-1824),
painting
to commemorate
Catholic
prac
seven
late
in
artist
important
seventeenth
exem
century,
His portrait of theVirgin ofMont
a venerated
Catalan,
an
in Chinchero,
control
Spanish
an
display
in
orb,
(Fig. 3).4 It represents a
the Christ Child, both of whom
hands.
opposing
In
the Virgin and Child are depicted
young
patrons,
music-making
mountainous
ered
when
tain
called
was
music
Montserrat.
that her
icon was
a cave
from
discov
in a moun
an
became
and
instrumentation,
performers
for the
services
impressive
to moun
references
of
aspect
important
in Spain.
in
community
Beginning
a school
for
called
the
escolania
boys
century,
singing,
an
and
The
coming
Music
of Montserrat's
thirteenth
young
heard
versions,
subsequent
surrounded by religious
acolytes,
(Fig. 4).
to the
legend
backdrop
and music
refer
associated
sculpture
of Montserrat
seated Virgin who holds
a vital
made
were
and
Virgin
and
composition,
to
contribution
into her
integrated
the
the basilica
iconog
raphy.
The
of Montserrat,
mountain
came
which
to
a central
play
role in the iconography associated with this particular Ma
is also
donna,
very
seen
from most
tain
of Montserrat
important
in the
places
in
Spain
to Catalan
as
identity,
it can
be
the moun
Therefore,
region.
as not
served
only
a Christian
symbol but also an emblem of regional identity. Since
name
Montserrat
"sawed
is derived
the
mountain,"
in
iconography
the Christ Child
from
image
In later
Europe.
the Latin
a
of
word
saw was
images,
the
meaning
to her
added
hovering
or
angels
(sitting in theVirgin's lap) are shown sawing
a
Elements
mountaintop.5
depicting
of Montserrat,
as the
shrine
such
routes,
and
hermitages,
life around
the
Benedictine
entered
actual
monastery,
into
the
saint's
iconography as well (Figs. 5, 6).6 The Virgin's reputed mira
cles
turned
the
Virgin
Marian
important
Bern?t
Boil,
missionaries
America.
made
from
image
holy
pilgrimage
and
beyond
one of the few known
colonial
contested
deeply meaningful
layered
of sacredness,
issues
dif
interrogates
of
the practice
In
traditions.
indigenous
doing
narrative
both enunciates
and moves
pictorial
exposes
and
of space,
and
construed,
and
visualizing
of the
half
tito, an
Chivan
the
during
with the mountain
and
styles,
of
illustrating
indigenous
European
were
with and
in the
transformed
practices
critically
engaged
Andean
Chivantito's
the
context,
pro
painting
highlights
cesses
of dislocation
and
that characterized
transculturation
that
imperial
taught
a very vibrant
painting, when
artistic
Chi
visualizes
the
dramatically
complex
that characterized
the Andes
during
how
By
Francisco
latter
during theViceroyalty of Per?.2
At firstglance, the iconography of this painting appears to
be strictlySpanish in origin.3 The Virgin of Montserrat is a
the
native
By
of
way
the
in the nave
of the church
hung
Inca
estate
came
that
under
royal
the Virgin
mountain.
of Montserrat
in
into
Andean
Chinchero
Francisco
region
was
tains
not
one
became
change.
plifies this phenomenon.
serrat
cen
after
interior
church's
the Cuzco
and
also
cultural
context.
Andean
murals,
Even
beliefs
teenth century, indigenous artistsworked fluidly in European
stylesand media, transforming European traditions to fit the
of
opulence
stones
and
interpreting
seventeenth
Inca
imperial
with
along
bricks
intricate
the
the massive
of
the grandeur
neglect,
to its
prior
significance.
fies
tices
pampa
windswept
early colonial
Inca royal estate
beyond
walls
an
and
paintings,
turies of
Just
are
doors
century
a
(Fig. 1). Its plain facade, as well as the
Per?
Chinchero,
modest
Andes.
on
stands
This
of Montserrat
shrines
into
one
of
the most
in Spain.
a Benedictine
friar who
in the Americas,
transported
was
one
of
the first
the Virgin's
story
and likeness to theNew World. Despite his efforts,along with
those of the friars and individual patrons, the cult of the
Virgin never attained the popularity in the territories that it
enjoyed
since
sociated
some
in Spain.7 This
the
communities
Virgin
Mary
failure is surprising, particularly
the
during
Spanish
occupation
with
local
sacred mountains.8
as
For
212
ART BULLETIN
JUNE
2007 VOLUME
LXXXIX
NUMBER
2
1 Church
Montserrat,
and
plaza
of Nuestra
Se?ora
Chinchero,
niched
wall
de
with
Peru,
in the
foreground (photograph by the
author)
oil on
9 X
13 ft. (3 X
2 Francisco
Chivan
Chinchero
(artwork in the public domain; photograph by Richard L. Kagan)
in the
example,
mountains
marked
peaks
were
out
and
as
devotion,
spaces
were
cred
highlands
understood
sacred
unusual
private
("earth
and
rock
mass
of
ofMontserrat,
with
1693,
the south-central
to
be
venerated.
outcrops
pilgrimage,
to be
understood
mother"),
female
tito, Virgin
Apus,
In addition,
(huacas)
and
Andes,
that
special
however,
is, places
mountain
As
became
sacrifice.
canvas,
These
sites
phy.
ideas
of
sacred
of Pachamama
expressions
of a sa
the Andean
association
revealing
a venerated
mountain.
This
association,
and
4 m).
was
Church
not
historians
of Nuestra
directly
mapped
of religion
in
easily transferable.9 Chivantito's
Montserrat
complex
tion.
process
In the Chinchero
onto
of
religious
painting,
rarely
iconogra
have
shown,
or
straightforward
landscape
integration,
we
Christian
painting of the Virgin of
her mountainous
against
de Montserrat,
the Americas
are
of sacredness
practices
Se?ora
see
the
visualizes
conflict,
standard
and
this
evolu
Montserrat
A COLONIAL
ANDEAN
PAINTING
213
iconography from Spain with few alterations (Figs. 2, 7). The
seated Virgin holds an orb in one hand (fromwhich a flower
protrudes) and the Christ Child in another. The Child holds
not
an
a small
but
orb
saw.
Acolytes
music
playing
and
friars
surround theVirgin. God the Father and the Holy Ghost in
the form of a dove hover above the Christ Child. On either
side of God the Father kneel supplicants, most likely the
Apostles
with
Saint
this
central
group,
by angels
and
framing
sawed
being
On
the
the mountainous
one
is in
peak
the
scenes
two additional
landscape
of
process
are shown.
right is an idealized pilgrimage
the Virgin's
crosses
In
Joseph.
scene with
and
the
On
chapels
dotting
mountaintops.
and main
of Chinchero.
square
was one of a series
in the Chinchero
painting
left is
her
church
This
church
devoted to the life ofMary. Of the remaining paintings from
the
of Montserrat
the Virgin
in detail,
painted
showing
multiple
dean
references.
This
series was
series,
is the
image
or
scenes,
only
carrying
one
An
commissioned
probably
by
Bishop Manuel de Mollinedo y?ngulo, who in 1673 brought
with him a large collection of paintings from Europe for
copying and distribution among the local churches in the
Cuzco
ordered
To
region.10
that each
life of
the
depicting
this dissemination,
encourage
church
commission
its titular
saint.11
Mollinedo
a
series
of
As
we
shall
paintings
the
see,
Chinchero painting was most likelybased on a Spanish original.
Andean Copies of European Prints and Paintings
Copying originals in the form of prints and sometimes paint
a
has
ings
long
a
and
became
Europe
the colonial
New World.12
in
history
artists
in
common
Artists
among
practice
use
as models
could
and
to
which
from
copy,
prints
paintings
were
either
in part or in their
Because
easy to
entirety.
they
were
often
in mission
moreover,
transport,
prints
employed
ary work and religious instruction, and with the opening of
to Christian
the Americas
prints grew
for export
tremendously.
to the New World
of conversion,
sources
of
evangelization,
even
Prints were
to be used
for
imagery
local
to serve
as
the
demand
made
tools
for
specifically
in the process
either directly by priests or as
artists.
Religious authorities in the New World believed that the
practice of copying prints enabled local artists to learn the
traditional
and European
iconography
in the sacred
that were
expected
Catholic
faith. It also gave
the patrons
tion
the
artists
sioned
might
ropean
ticular
understood
work.
the results
or
respect,
varied,
compare
as
the
local
the
a
it with
another
indigenous parish inCuzco
of Montserrat,
this
painting
becomes
archetype
from
the Iglesia
clear
de
an
anonymous
around
the
same
time
that Francisco
kneeling
religious
only,
members
order
surround
of
the monks
one
of
the
the Roman
Virgin.17
the
Virgin's
on
In
Ghost
we
an
Santiago,
artist
Chivantito
the
shows
was
patron.18
In both
versions,
in the form
a
of a dove,
God
flank
angels
the
the Father,
backdrops.
with
angels
landscape
Montserrat's
and
the kneel
similarities can be found in
ing faithful hover above. Other
the mountainous
models
when
been
Virgin and hold onto her throne with a single hand. Flying
angels in both canvases crown the Virgin while the Holy
strikinglysimilar iconography and layout.While it isundated
and unsigned, a different artist likely painted the Santiago
canvas
and
have
(Fig. 8). Also depicting theVirgin
by
or a
painters
the Eu
painting of the Virgin of Montserrat
European
in the
(artwork
right holds a staff; this detail may signify that a bishop may
originals.14 It is in
the European
music
playing
clergy
the Santiago
version
tain
the Chinchero
from
that
original
of Montserrat)
by the author)
commis
reinterpret,
effectively
reject
a process
of mimesis
that is par
Through
original.13
to the colonial
artists
encounter,
indigenous
copied
this
from
"slippage"
became
Andean.15
derives
of
even
but did not completely replicate European
That
acolytes
Catholic
that
photograph
working in Chinchero.16 The central image is of a seated
Virgin who, like the one in the Chinchero image, holds in
one hand an orb with a lilyprotruding and in the other hand
the Christ Child, who holds a saw (Fig. 9). In both paintings
of representa
the Roman
(the Virgin
domain;
of
images
some
reassurance
outcome
the desired
Nonetheless,
modes
3 La Moreneta
public
a moun
feature
paintings
a
a standard
part of
peak,
In addition,
iconography.
Both
sawing
seventeenth-century
the paintings depict a pilgrimage scene to the Virgin's right
and
a scene
of
the church
theVirgin's left.
It is in the background
the
two
images
end.
While
in which
the painting
the
two
sections
are
hung
to
scenes that the similarities between
the
clearly
scene
pilgrimage
scape are distinct in the Chinchero
one
was
and
town
painting, in the Santiago
joined
in
the background.
ART BULLETIN
214
2007 VOLUME
JUNE
LXXXIX
NUMBER
2
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This variation isjust one of many differences indicating that
the artists
of
subsidiary
sections.
the
Here
and
landscape
credness,
two canvases
the
and
we
had
begin
for
to invent
to see how
to articulate
architecture
tradition
license
their Andean
in these
the artists
used
In
audience.
the
Virgin of Montserrat painting, Chivantito devoted a larger
portion of his canvas to the regional church scene than did
the artist
anonymous
which
of
the
artist,
Santiago
Chivantito
painting.
not
Furthermore,
only
depicted
unlike
the church
the
in
the painting hung but also dedicated considerable
detail to the documentation of indigenous life.
the
Built Environment: Architecture,
and Memory
Space,
The
sa
difference,
Depicting Chinchero's
scenes,
background
larger
narrative
legible to itsviewers. Although
the nave,
are
which
of Chivantito's
Chinchero
residents
to
critical
understanding
would
painting,
have
would
have
easily made
out
imposing figure of the Virgin and her mountainous
drop.
Given
smaller
gregants.
the
flanking
In
painting's
scenes
would
particular,
the
been
the painting was hung high in
large
have
size,
been
architecture
even
visible
of
the
the
the
back
relatively
con
to the
townscape
is
clearly discernible, suggesting that this aspect of the painting
A COLONIAL
Nueva
to be
intended
of
gregants
This
inclusion
in
seen?and
of a
local
themed images. Between
views
an
constituted
the
discussed
great
the
con
scene
was
understood?by
church.
modern
early
215
H^HHHHIHHHHHHHHBHHHBHHH
the colonial
common
PAINTING
*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H
(artwork the
was
ANDEAN
into
townscape
Europe,
a
particularly
larger
in
in
diversity
has
Kagan
were
repre
Richard
genre.
important
cities
the ways
religiously
city and town
1500 and 1790 CE,
sented in Europe and theAmericas, from the purely generic
sur
to the more
views
localized
"iconic"
precise
symbolic
some
or
Most
fell
views
veys,
"topographic
descriptions."19
the urbs, the
in between,
either
where
physical
emphasizing
or
as its urban
form
and architecture,
the
such
of
aspects
city,
or
In
its human
associations
local
its civitas,
community.
or
paintings made by local artists in both Europe and theAmer
icas
as
could
seen
a
(but
not
be
tendency
in a manner
civitas
the
"descriptive"
would
habitants
to
depict
that was
features
easily
recognize
to them.20
that were
community
important
the town's
built
the Chinchero
painting,
are
that
in
ways
scapes
spoke
represented
the
that
of
or
accurate
relatively
such
documentary),
town
their
As we
and
see
shall
to the
realities
that
revealing
the church
tower,
exterior,
centuries
several
Chivantito's
or
sured
ing
the
major
town's
exacting
relative
buildings
built
since
this
painting
representation
of the
portrait
placement,
and public
environment
shape,
was
of
town,
created
the
city
it succeeds
permits
us
size
depiction
to date
most
of
its
of the
of
the
surviving buildings and spaces to the time of the painting's
execution in 1693 or before. This descriptive approach to
local
townscape
was
especially
common
to the Cuzco
region
to
painting
Yet
the details
of
construction
to the Chinchero
similar
such
of
in describ
of
of the most
important
in
environment
the built
In
is the Corpus Christi series (1674-80).21
these, specific buildings in Cuzco were carefully illustrated,
down
1, 10).
(Figs.
is not a mea
and
materials,
space. The
examples
in
plazas, and niched wall have not changed significantly in the
While
of descriptive
colonial Per?
arches,
is located. One
in which Chinchero
in
land
human
and
in
local
which the residents lived.
The right-hand side of this painting portrays the plaza of
Chinchero,
6 Detail of Fig. 5
the urbs as well
both
paintings
the
in a manner
materials,
painting.
only
urban
as
chosen
represented
of the
Chivantito's
painting
from the phys
clear deviations
selectively
pects
landscape.
manifests
of Montserrat
Virgin
as
ical remains.
Descriptive
representation,
a certain
freedom
the
artist
gives
painting,
or person
of an actual
such
elements
place
in the Chinchero
in visualizing
that
key
the physical
a strong
reality can be altered in the image but still convey
to what
resemblance
illustration,
mentary
is
By
being
depicted.
is restricted
the artist
contrast,
by
the
in docu
need
to
depict exclusively what physically exists. This critical differ
ence
between
illustration
has
descriptive
sometimes
representation
been
overlooked
and
documentary
in
the
study
of
216
ART BULLETIN
2007 VOLUME
JUNE
LXXXIX
NUMBER
2
7 Virgin
center
detailof
the
ofMontserrat,
the Virgin
(artwork
in
showing
the public domain; photograph by the
author)
colonial Andean
paintings. Reading
descriptive images as if
illustrations
has allowed
certain
fic
they were
documentary
our
tions to be read as fact,
greatly muddying
understanding
of Andean
and
painting
history.22
to understand
in order
the Chinchero
Therefore,
painting,
we must
examine
in which
those
elements
Chivan
carefully
re
differs
from
the contemporary
painting
clearly
It is in these areas
that we are
mains.23
into
the
given
insights
as well
as the hierarchies
of the
constraints
process
painting
tito's
being
chero
on
represented
canvas,
this
the
canvas.
limited
For
freedom
in the Chin
example,
can be
in
composition
seen in the painting of the niched wall that divides the atrium
from
the plaza.
The
wall
is critical
to the
plaza
scene,
the stage for the people and actions before it.The
impressive
painted
Inca
wall
suggests
that
as
it sets
look of the
it reflects
the ap
and materials
of the actual wall. Niches
size, color,
proximate
are
in the
at
Inca
standard
which,
depicted
typical
shapes,
to be
first
in the locations
to
appear
glance,
corresponding
on
one
the
wall. Yet,
closer
notices
examination,
surviving
are
that only
of the eleven
niches
The
illustrated.24
eight
foundation and bottom half of the niched wall date to before
the
arrival
eleven
the
of
in
history.25
alter one's
This
compositional
elite
made
of dark
niched
implies
tant for
that numerical
to convey
to the built
the
painting
alterations
Other
finely
niches
trapezoidal
but not document
difference
of
accuracy
not
a
illustrates
describing
ing the physical remains. The
had
basis
does
however,
image
Inca
with
wall,
blocks,
masonry
The
it always
had no
niches
change,
of the space.
reading
Inca
made,
that
Europeans,
meaning
that Chivantito's
eight
and
niches,
the niches
in the number
was
not
impor
its
message.26
environment
in the
painting
disclose priorities in terms of which physical aspects to depict
as
as
well
the
of
importance
artistic traditions. One
spatial
example
in Andean
relations
is in the flattening of the
into a divided
but
plaza
In the Chinchero
space.
planar,
contiguous
painting,
case
in colonial
that
times went
from
the bottom
two-tiered
niched
The
atrium
wall
result
elevated
to almost
is that
town
plaza.
This
its top
instead
predominantly
accompanying
town
and
to a mere
is shortened
of an
above
atrium
the
that would
town
plaza,
the
almost
a stair
of
few
the
steps.
have
been
space
and
scene lie unmistakably behindand alongside the
subtle
but
effective
change
in layout
sets up
ANDEAN
A COLONIAL
Peru
scene
to take
that allows
the plaza
hierarchy
As we
shall see,
of the
atrium.
receding
casts
of characters
have
diverse
dramatically
precedence
the two scenes
front
and
in
present
daily life.27 In Chi
distinctly different views of Chinchero's
a
that one
of
understandings
was
space
conception
built
environment.
The
thus
critical performative space
life.
mon
compositional
among
European
Andes,
indigenous
and
particularly
In
enacted.31
reflects
change
artists
indigenous
Cuzco.
of
artists
In the
an artistic
the
practice
school.
Cuzco
inhabited
beginning,
Both
colonial
the
artists
com
of various
ethnicities worked together in a single guild, but increasing
friction eventually led to a split, explicitly along ethnic lines.
European artists complained vigorously of the lack of skill
among indigenous artists, including their alleged inability to
the
complementarity.
onto
the landscape
mapped
Incas
the plaza
considered
space
huge
distinct
halves,
and
separate
For
character.
rituals.
example,
formed
Kusipata
the public
plaza
two parts
that formed
Hence,
of
and
could
This
plaza.
complementary
be
its own
a distinct
each
This
component.32
religious
exercises.
as made
but
stricted to the Inca capital but could be found
imperial
in both the Andes and Europe.
The rejection of perspectival
rather
been
have
in specific
situations
may
by choice
than because
of a lack of ability. Many
artists, such
indigenous
onetwo
as Chivan
follow European
and
tito, did not always
in their
artistic
Indigenous
compositions.
point
perspective
on a
were
in the Cuzco
based
distinctively
region
practices
This
of
as
perception
comes
from
space.29
In
relational,
with
each
viewed
spaces
tary parts
of
and
manipulation
an Andean?and
the Andes,
space
urban,
as
that created
was
space.
compositional
Inca?notion
specifically
(as it still is) understood
community,
imperial,
and
of essential
composed
a whole,
a
conception
and
sacred
often
complementary
divisions
that
belonged
expressed
together,
The
urban
the
of
and
re
in other
and
architecture
Incas,
ordering
in hanan
spatial
expressed
informed
by
such
of
layout
Inca concepts
the Spanish
during
abandoned
during
time a new,
which
depicted
a
slightly
imperial
of space
a
major
and
public
dual
the world,
and
hurin, was
critical
plaza,
and
in the
painting,
elevated
atrium,
to
should
be
with
its own
specific
hosting
This
ularly
needs
the public
division
of function
Andean
duality. However,
was
Inca plaza
of the town, at
imperial
As
shape.
next
to
situated
took
plaza
which
was
fronted
have argued
method
the
in
and the plaza
government.33
public
of ordering
piction of the Chinchero
the church.
that this new
of a double
expression
the
atrium
function,
serving
space for the Catholic Church
of
was
as an
seen
atrium
each
such
as
reorganization
central
plaza
this new
too,
Chinchero,
smaller,
Teresa Gisbert and Jos? de Mesa
plaza
Inca
the old
invasion,
smaller,
as the public
complemen
in terms of the duality hanan and hurin?0 The Incas saw
hanan (the upper part) and hurin (the lower part) as unequal
but
ity,
expressed
such as that
the
not
that understanding.
techniques by indigenous
artists
local
space
For
settings.
up
essential
was
concept
execute
Inca
two
and
functions
accommodated
Huacaypata
for military
the setting
was understood
of Cuzco
a whole,
as
of
conceived
with
each
important
in the highly public cen
royal and religious rites took place
tral
most
of Cuzco,
capital
imperial
a
imperial ideology was
in which
artists
Many
European
techniques.
"proper"
perspective
did
artists as inferior and,
viewed
therefore,
indigenous
not wish
to have
As we shall see, the
them in the same
guild.28
was a
use of
issue
in
complex
techniques
painting
perspective
of
concepts
and
reciprocity
and
This
The
the other.
without
exist
of
This
is abandoned
composition
perspectival
painting,
that
relations
between
elements,
emphasizes
spatial
to a very
focus
view of
the
specific
painting's
shifting
not
could
hanan and hurin defined most aspects of Andean
life, in
Andean
social
and
relations,
highlighting
spatial
particular,
for one
Chinchero
217
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H
a
van tito's
PAINTING
space
space.34
reflects
a
Chivantito's
partic
de
plaza supports Gisbert and de Me
ART BULLETIN
218
JUNE
LXXXIX
2007 VOLUME
NUMBER
2
of center
detail
ofMontserrat,
the Virgin.
showing
Iglesia de San
in the public
(artwork
tiago, Cuzco
9 Virgin
domain; photograph provided by
Melissa Chatfield)
sa's understanding
of
in elevation
difference
Chivantito
a
turned
into
arrangement
and
actions
ing
the
providing
the Andean
more
space.
By flattening
indigenous
between
the atrium
and
the
traditional
a
church
specifically
are
two
plazas
in the
distinct
the
performances
evidence
that
concepts
of duality,
Inca
atrium-public
dual
The
plaza.
perhaps
as
in
the
atrium
was
an
and
in
and
to
attempt
depicting
Chivantito
would
have
conceptions,
spatial
a
of
An
been
Andean
tradition
continuing
long
translating
dean
three-dimensional
into
two-di
spatial
understanding
mensional
The
criticism
lodged
representational
practices.35
the
artists
led to the
that
eventually
against
indigenous
split
convey
change
Andean
looking
Andean
for
own
their
visual
artistic
culture,
priorities,
Europe
its complexity
denying
themultiple picto
in Europe,
where
relational
still practiced
pri
in
the
Christian
sometimes
art,
orities,
trumped
particularly
execution
of perspectival
techniques.36
of indigenous
is critical
for an
artistic practices
Knowledge
rial
hurin.
If this
In
and multiple meanings. They also denied
figures
mirror
hanan
to be based partially inmisunder
ting of the guild appears
standing.
ans misread
plaza,
plaza
different,
drastically
in
Inca
imperial
plazas
this space was understood
even
the
traditions
of what
understanding
center
tion of a town
devoted
the
town
considerable
center.
Did
the descriptive
representa
For
Chivantito
conveyed.
example,
to the built
of
attention
environment
meaning
he
do
this
in an
attempt
to
provide
recognizable background for his local scene, or did the build
ings themselves
for the Inca
carry
in
specific
meaning?
particular?buildings
In
the Andes?and
served
as
important
a
A COLONIAL
ANDEAN
PAINTING
219
10 Virgin ofMontserrat,detail showing the Chinchero town scene (artwork in the public domain; photograph provided by Richard L.
Kagan)
mnemonic
devices.
When
use
oral
relating
is the major
(Quechua
speakers
histories,
a
to remember
or
specific
building
people,
places,
an
other
of
oral
Even
ruined
colonial
build
aspects
history.37
serve as focal
of memory.
ings could
points
The
Inca used
tools to remember
various
the past.
Imperial
Inca songs, poetry,
and associated
enact
would
performances
the memory
of imperial
and
Inca
events.38
persons
songs,
could
to as
the
referred
Spanish
commemorative
ceremonies,
which
brations,
ings.
ployed
not
most?if
a
took
remembrance
all?of
the
were
other
variety
senses.39
forms
of
of
elements
cele
military
official
gather
rituals,
mourning
and many
festivals,
religious
Inca
cantares,
The
and
emphasis
and
one's
and
construed,
experience
with
enacted
with
it, in particular,
the act of
em
on
as architecture
act
of
One
have
and
dress,
remembering.
of material
aspect
a
particularly
demonstrated
by
been
brance,
memorated
holy
places
could
have
culture,
and
events.
tool
for
of Cuzco,
The
as an
understood
architecture,
important
the shrines
celebrated importantmilestones
been
such
to
appears
remem
Inca
which
shrines
not
com
only
in imperial history, they also
lives of important
everyday
a ruler once
or even
bathed
future
to pass
served
on
Susan
sovereigns.
deceased
rested.41
remem
imperial
Niles
points
out
that
before assuming the title of Sapa Inka, the royal heir had to
on
go
an
architectural
for
journey
instruction.
For
example,
on the death of Thupa Tnka, his sonWayna Qhapaq made a
pilgrimage to several building complexes.42 At each he would
hear
about
songs
specific
learn
of
men
and
his
their
ancestors'
great
women,
accomplishments,
achievements.
Religious
to the future
would
sing
sovereign the official stories of the people who once lived or
passed through the specific buildings, in this way making
an
Inca
architecture
imperial
for
memories.
dynastic
teaching
visualized and experienced
formance,
also
seeing.40
In other words, seeing thematerial world of Chinchero,
to
brances
the
also
architecture
thereby
both
figures,
remains
material
Inca
in
as where
such
rulers,
and
objects, senses, and experience as memory highlights the
importance of material culture inAndean life, in particular,
inAndean history.As Thomas Cummins has noted, Andeans
did not record their histories in texts; instead, history was
constructed,
events
marked
Quechua
language of the Andes)
in
imperial
and
large
ceremony.
gatherings,
mnemonic
device
important
was
For
the Inca, memory
in buildings, songs, poetry, per
It was
executed
within
the creation
fostering
families
and
of a collective
memory.
important role of buildings as mnemonic devices for
before and after the European
indigenous history?both
The
invasion?suggests
resentation
of
an
reason
additional
the built
environment
may
why descriptive
have
been
rep
ubiqui
tous in colonial Andean painting. Besides forming realistic
backgrounds for a recognizable event, illustrated buildings
could also have agency, functioning as the focal point of a
narrative
that
complements
or
competes
with
the narrative
ART
220
BULLETIN
not
in a
to exist
Inca wall
The
a
to evoke
device
or person
tives
the
inhabitants,
pictured
mnemonic
ritual,
NUMBER
2
in the event. Thus, while providing a backdrop
depicted
the
LXXXIX
2007 VOLUME
JUNE
single
This
allowed
depicted
of Chinchero
expression
as the
private
royal
for
has
example,
an
important
was
originally
shape,
Thupa
close
friends
Ocllo.
his
On
his
and
a battle
the execution ofMama
son
their
this
during
Chiqui Ocllo
to Chinchero.43
The
of
period
to share
and the banishment of
was
architecture
isolation.
in
However,
the
colonial
both
in its
the
dramatic
underwent
alterations,
place
new
town
be
the
The
layout and
plaza
standing
buildings.
came
a focal
of
point
change.
In the colonial
Inca
the enormous
period,
imperial
plaza
a new
was
abandoned
below
the
and
constructed
plaza
period,
de Montserrat. To build this new
church of Nuestra Se?ora
Inca
old
center,
a form
Arches,
were
buildings
to the
others
destroyed.
off the
Inca, marked
drastic
in midconstruction
it was
when
abandoned
abruptly
likely due to the untimely death of Thupa
in the Andes
Spaniards
came
state until
in its unfinished
remained
the heart
Rather
completed.44
than
in a manner
but
masonry
an adjacent
the focal
renovated
simply
augmented
destroyed
imperial
point
and
the new
of
enhanced
niched
the new
its Inca
took
Inca building
wall
for the
plaza.45
town became
Given
the
style and
part of
and
trans
of the wall
in terms
the
the
local
of
imperial prestige and authority. Given this background, we
can see the depiction of buildings and spaces in the Chin
chero
pictorial
lated
as
painting?besides
tradition?as
a
embodied
local
and
a
of
continuation
highly
symbolic
cultural
element
a
seen
the Community:
the importance
Considering
ratives
and
memory,
itmakes
and
to grasp
the details.
These
actions
though
figures
one
nar
chose
to
in
the background
look carefully
must
animating
local
environment,
in the
conveyed
image
a local
to represent
typical
this
when
period,
religious
the participants and onlookers
of the
depiction
rary written
as we
of the built
representation
some
fostered
confusion
tic invention.49
Therefore,
of an
own
of colonial
in the
and
granted
seen
in the
this
of the
study
likeness
by
us
has
also
this depiction
to reflect his
realities
the physical
about
and
gender,
the artist's
class,
same
the
time,
his
role
highlight
important
as the dramatic
and
violent
innovations
as well
mediator
the artist
echoes
painting
that characterized
changes
the
Corpus
to contempo
us critical
in
individuals,
crafted
informing
at Chinchero.
At
performance
of
thatwhile the image likely depicts
relevant
Chinchero,
manipulations
as a cultural
both
by their
verity and artis
descriptive
at the Chinchero
in
paint
looking
was
event
ephemeral
vision. Much
it was
between
and
procession
has
environment,
ing,we must acknowledge
actual
During
showing
paintings
resemblance
have
the
painted,
procession
striking
which
descriptions,
the
past.48 But,
into
sights
a
others.
was
the
town
as
of classes,
variety
ethnically marked
the numerous
bear
a
from
the Andes
the Spanish
during
occupation.
The Kuraka as Cultural Mediator
The depiction of the Corpus Christi procession at Chinchero
an
on
centers
local
The
a
the
sidelines.50
makes
relations
enous
the
the
with
both
communities,
showing
plaza,
men,
of a Christian
Inca
elite
indigenous
the most
and
church
men
imperial
tary chief, who
scene
and,
on
out
procession
their close
In
culture.
person
powerful
a
and
women,
indig
was
leader.
During
and
and
Spanish
town
elite
in the
takes place
in which
indigenous
a few individuals
act
representation
of the
importance
highland
local
plaza,
and
priest,
Spanish
This
clear
by
scene
secondary
the town
behind
in the
other
surrounded
musicians.
surround
scene
indigenous
leader
Inca
served
times
this was
as mediator
the
kuraka,
the
between
the local community. After the Spanish
to serve
continued
Per?,
the
Inca
this
aristocracy
as the
of indigenous
some of the
of
privileges
European
were
Inca nobles
colonial
period,
Narrative
in indigenous
buildings
sense
that Chivantito
their
the built
among
colonial
a
depict the Chinchero built environment in size and level of
detail that would make it easily legible to the church con
The
and
gregants.
figures
can also be discerned,
scenes
and
elaborates
important
was
state
imperial
invasion, the
function.
given
or heredi
the
In
legal
early
status
similar to the hidalgu?a in Spain. Spanish law recognized
Gender,
of
be
midcolonial
kuraka
European
that articu
memory.46
Textiles,
also
shows men
and women
painting
as
a
musicians
and
well
priest,
kuraka
Depicting
can
memory
atrium
Thus,
impor
the way
dynastic
history and
were
in
this niched
revered
wall
by Incas
buildings
general,
more
a
It
than
recognizable
just
background.
symbolized
a remembrance
the
of Chinchero
during
likely represented
a locus
was
center
of
Inca
the royal
when
imperial
period
tance
fact,
was
wall
among
it; they
Spanish-colonial
Inca niched
wall.
extended
Inca
residents finished
preserved
and
of
the arrival
the plaza be
the
it as a ruin
indigenous
that not
it into an additional
formed
after
town,
gridded
leaving
Spanish-style buildings,
wall
'Inka). The wall
in 1532. Then, when
the new
of
soon
(most
and
complements
In
a distinct
human landscape.47 The Corpus Christi scene in Chivantito's
an
perimeter.
to the destruction
of the
changes
spoke
the
Inca fabric,
old imperial
there was one
striking exception:
In
this wall had been
Inca
central
niched
wall.
times,
imperial
these
While
foreign
in and
filled
figures
architecture.
by the
in the illustration
of
In Cuzco,
clothing.
Christi
celebration
little modified
by
one
that
town.
the
tells
told
cultural
with
these
albeit
of
residents
indigenous
conveyed
story,
complex
on that
As
Tnka.
wife, Mama
secondary
Chiqui
over his succession
in
resulted
favorite
death,
as a retreat
the estate
used
colors
and
strokes
the
bright
sharp
against
of the architecture.
Chivantito's
efforts to make
to the
significant
Construction at Chinchero began toward the end of his reign
(late fifteenth or early sixteenth century). While the site took
Tnka
in
painted
colors
the individual figures legible indicate that they, too, were
narra
Chinchero
identity.
retreat of the Inca ruler
Thupa
built
are
muted
the narrative
scene,
plaza
was
its appearance
and
a
event,
action,
multiple
painting.
in the
history,
complicated
of an
the memory
illustrated.
for
as
act
could
architecture
unlike
little more
leader
indigenous
communities
and
gave
the
him
the early
nobility.
During
not
to the labor
tax,
subject
were
considered
who
commoners,
of
encomenderos
(over
possessions
Spanish
own
were
to
to
have
the
land,
lords),
given
right
counter
to transact
and
with
business
their Spanish
servants,
to
In return,
the kuraka was expected
certain
perform
parts.51
as
such
functions
for the Spanish
government
collecting
Inca
than
nobles
ANDEAN
A COLONIAL
taxes, providing
and
putes,
221
for labor, settling dis
indigenous people
maintaining
PAINTING
Catholic
religious
grew
in numbers
and
ceremonies
rituals.52
as
However,
the Spanish
(kuraka's)
cacique's
ment
began
to
leaders
local
appoint
to both
caciques,
as 1567,
the kuraka
blurring
the kuraka's
govern
Spanish
more
were
who
the
strength,
state. In addition,
to the will of the Spanish
referred
and
The
lessened.
power
favorable
the Spanish
as
leaders
the nonhereditary
between
the two.53 As early
to erode,
he
although
began
and
the distinction
authority
still played an important role in indigenous communities
throughout the colonial period.54 By contrast, indigenous
commoners
the
were
as
or children
of
legal minors,
the mercy
of the Spanish
gov
categorized
at
left them
which
state,
eminent.
At Chinchero, the local leader was likelyan Inca elite.56He
is depicted in the center of the plaza, surrounded by other
indigenous elites (Fig. 11). The inscription next to his image
"MD
says
Pascual
Amau,"
that
conveying
was
he
probably
and held the Spanish title major
domo.57 Elegantly dressed and gazing confidently back at the
Amau
viewer,
at
stands
men
Three
Amau
Pascual
named
flank
center
the
two
Amau,
of
the
of whom
In addition,
four
status.58
ing their special
women
move
two of whom
behind
the men,
this
Together,
elite
indigenous
hold
staffs.
also
the Christian
awaits
group
indicat
staffs,
procession.
in the forefront, the elite are portrayed as the
With Amau
locus
elite
scene.
town
entire
hold
town
in the Chinchero
of authority
even more
scene,
so
than the priest and his followers in the atrium behind.
In
the
colonial
early
the
period,
was
cacique
of
in charge
paying the priest and constructing churches.59 In fact, the
often
cacique
the
paid
church's
and
choir
upkeep,
rather
than a Spaniard
in the construction
and
nishing,
cique
role
At
teachers.60
have
may
an
fur
a
Chinchero,
played
of the
operation
as
such
expenses,
daily
ca
important
thus,
church;
the illustrated lesser status of the Spanish priest compared
with that of the indigenous cacique may have reflected a
historical
of
dynamic
the
sixteenth
century.61
the Virgin of Montserrat was painted at the end
Yet when
lost
considerable
in the
continued
Viceroyalty
and
between
mediators
Europeans
important
at the
served
but they also
pleasure
populations,
to serve
of
seventeenth
the
century,
caciques
of Per?.
They
power
chero
power
or,
the
alternatively,
the elites'
past
on
reflects
of
that
cacique
an
envisions
as
indigenous
of the Span
at Chin
endured
idealized
that
image
authority.
The dramatic change in the status of indigenous elites
from the early to themidcolonial period can readily be seen
in another
of
the gathering
was
majordomo
town
of Chivantito's
element
indigenous
on
written
elite
men,
the canvas,
scene.
To
the name
below
the
left of
of another
Pascual
Amau's
inscription.63 This caption likely refers to the finely dressed
man
to Amau's
right,
whose
Inca
mantle
is elegantly
slung
over his shoulder as he looks with assurance back at the
viewer.What was to befall him after this painting was made is
not
clear.
His
name
on
the painting
was
defaced,
suggesting
that eventually thisman fell out of official favor.64The pic
torial change points to an intentional effort to forget the
existence
of
the
former
majordomo?to
physically
erase
memory.
his
detail
ofMontserrat,
who
often
the kuraka
showing
not
of
and
removed
favorable
the cause
know
who
in defense
more
were
do
leaders
Andean
usually
were
we
Although
deletion,
sires,
image in the painting either represents the
ish viceroy.62 The
considerable
had
11 Virgin
(artwork
the public domain; photograph by the author)
acted
their
contrary
in
of this pictorial
to
de
Spanish
communities,
indigenous
leaders
with
indigenous
replaced
to the needs
of
the
Spanish.
and after
This
the
during
prevalent
increasingly
In Chivantito's
creation.
this
painting,
period
painting's
at Chinchero
both
leaders
of indigenous
the representation
practice
became
of
reveals their high status and points to their significant decline
during the Spanish occupation.
The dramatically shifting status of indigenous people can
be read in the depiction of clothing in the Chinchero paint
ing.
Descriptive
of
representation
is common
clothing
in
colonial Andean art since dress, like buildings, was highly
con
symbolic in Andean society. Clothing highlighted the
tested nature of the indigenous body, both before and after
the European
to conquer
of
variety
One
of
invasion.
the western
laws
those
to
When
Inca
the
rim of South
regulate
was
mandates
the
their
America,
newly
that
began
people
conquered
wear
campaign
they enacted
local
populace.
dress
a
so
that theywould be visibly identifiable (and therefore more
controllable).65
easily
of the Andes,
they
Later,
enacted
the Spanish
took control
to control
dress.
laws
sumptuary
when
ART
222
BULLETIN
over
changed
a
had
they
profound
these
Although
2007 VOLUME
JUNE
laws
contradictory,
LXXXIX
time
NUMBER
were
and
on
impact
2
sometimes
balance
the material
culture of theAndes.66 Worried that Inca dress would instill
pride and rebellion, the Spanish declared it illegal. Then, for
fear
conquered
mixed
too
becoming
it illegal for people
to wear
ethnicity
was
populace
the Spanish made
pean,
and
the
that
high-status
Euro
of indigenous
of power
clothes.67
slippage
of mimicry
tilt in favor
eventually
power,
they also
retain
that
Inca
the
gave
of
the
the elites' traditional
the Spanish usurped
what
nobility
little power
they
had; subsequently, Inca elites had towork with the Spanish to
contrast,
while
power
advocating
commoners
had
indigenous
their own
to control
European
that would
Spanish. While
causes.
indigenous
By
few opportunities
very
lives.
This ambivalent desire on the part of the Spanish can be
in other
found
contexts.
colonizing
The
was a tool employed by both the colonized and the colonizers
to claim
that
The
power.
European
were
local
was
for mimicry
to emulate
desire
ordained
not
but
populations
become
the colonized
actually
Spanish,
thereby maintaining
state. As Homi
Bhabha
"colonial
is the desire
argues,
mimicry
a
as
a
for a reformed,
Other,
subject of
recognizable
difference
For both
that is almost
the same, but not
the Inca and
quite."m
the Spanish regimes, the legislation of indigenous dress man
a
ifests
shared
class
and
both
Inca
Likewise,
ethnicity.
strategies
the
control
and
Spanish
to articulate
indigenous
under
populations
imperial
regimes
their own desires
can
dynamic
seen
be
leader
indigenous
standing
proudly
Spanish
shirt,
in
in
coat,
most
clearly
Chinchero
the
center
the
of
shoes,
cape,
the
in the
and
pants,
of
clothing
a
into
Yet
procession.
'unku, over
the Andean
Amau
the Spanish
textile
wears
also
appears
influence is clearly visible. Borrowing from Spanish clothing
in many
is prevalent
the
studied
styles
Rowe
colonial
Andean
John
paintings.
of indigenous
and Spanish
representation
in colonial
that the greater
and found
the
portraits
one
elements
of the person,
the fewer
indigenous
clothing
prestige
72
sees.
out
marking
of
can
class
seen
be
in
the
but
subtle
visible difference in the clothing of the elites surrounding
Amau.
For
example,
to Amau,
also
the
other
is dressed
majordomo
simi
and
with
shoes,
shirt,
pants,
Spanish
the
has
tunic. However,
majordomo
Amau
of the tailored
mantle
instead
cape
Spanish
His
with
fewer Spanish
wears.73
elements,
slightly
clothing,
status next
to Amau.
his less important
thus discloses
larly
as an
as well
jacket,
an Inca
Inca
The clothing styledoes not specifywhether the indigenous
elites were of mixed Spanish and Inca ethnicity but instead
as a marker
serves
nity.
The
of
increase
authority
of
in
power
Spanish
pressed
in the increase of Spanish
clothing.
This,
pression
as
but
of
an
should
though,
of
not
a
as
to
external
how
was
the Andes
European
of
symbols
simple
ex
practices
are
power
translated to proclaim indigenous authority; ithighlights the
latter's
the
role
as cultural
powerful Spaniards
populations.
At
mediator
and
between
progressively
increasingly oppressed
Chinchero,
an oscillating codependent
Inca
elites
found
more
indigenous
themselves
of
pri
Tnka.
Wayna
Qhapaq
Thupa
a
local group
and political
powerful
con
the Incas
centuries.
Eventually
Ayamarkas,
were
who
truce
the
though
regional
drawn
allowed
the Aya
elites
cacique
sition
in
relationship with the Spanish, a
of
was
rivals
to rule.75
colonial
if any,
few,
Notably,
The dichotomy
lay between
outsiders,
making
European
cultural
mediator
particularly
as mediator
to
him
gave
scope
a
and
large
diverse
Spaniards
indigenous
the
and
among
congre
commoners
array
as
interactions
in
living
Inca
period,
descendants
(Ayamarka),
of local
an
and
(Yanacona),
used
in the
made
nonelite
alongside
Inca
less powerful
groups
who
the Pampa
de Anta,
during the Spanish occupation. When
painting
lived
the
from
countryside
gated at Chinchero
role
of
the
His
important.
po
not
negotiate
indigenous
tion but also critical Spanish-indigenous
only
popula
dialogue.
in the
is
represented
population
we
find difference
articulated
painting,
though,
strikingly,
than
ethnic
affilia
class
rather
through
specific
indigenous
have
been
used
Inca ethnic markers
tion.76 Even
apparently
This
varied
indigenous
an
status
elite
than
rather
ethnic
The
ancestry.
clothing of themusicians, like that of indigenous elites in the
painting, displays their status (Fig. 12). The musicians wear
trousers
tunics decorated
indigenous-style
None
of
the
musicians
sports
indigenous
patterns.77
of
shoes. Most
and only one boasts
stockings,
Spanish
Spanish
or
a
com
them wear
sandals
Andean
go barefoot,
practice
mon
All of the musicians
central
among
highland
people.78
a
wear
shirt under
tunics.
their
simple
Spanish
indigenous
more
shows
than
The musicians'
clothing
indigenous
Span
Spanish
with
along
with
ish influence, signifying fewer ties to Spanish authority and
brant
to
links
greater
ex
influences in Amau's
read
acculturation
indigenous
example
be
commu
the Chinchero
within
Incas,
four main
descendants
to retain their ethnic distinction while becoming
to define
This
from
drawn
the
or
the Yanacona
Third,
by privilege.74
ayllu,
community
were
servants
Inca
of
elite
from
who
the
descendants
group,
a
serve
were
to
in
of
ethnic
the
who
groups
variety
brought
insiders
Inca
but
derivation,
rulers,
lived in Chinchero.
traditional
tunics.71The majority
is of European
thus,
clothing,
the
quered
markas
whom
woven
design
but the edge
The
shirt.70
to be
European,
bindings are typicalof local Chinchero
of Amau's
the
of
the
and
the Ayamarkas,
the Inca
for
Second,
of ex-servants
He
holds a Spanish hat in his hands, in respect for the approach
ing religious
Inca
tunic,
Inca
Chivantito's
Amau,
wears
stockings.69
marily
locals,
control,
painting.
town
plaza,
two
were
Inca ruler during the imperial Inca period. And, finally, the
counter
developed
exert
and
First,
groups.
rivals
there
were
residents
Chinchero,
Incas
conquered
the body a highly charged and contested landscape.
making
the
and
by visualizing difference and subjugation through
populace
This
to mark
desire
Musicians
In colonial
such
color
systems.
indigenous
and
of elite
absence
The
Inca
lack
general
of vi
com
ornamentation,
pared to that displayed by the elite indigenous men, denote
the musicians'
lower
The musicians
As
procession.
status
in the Andean
community.
are ostensibly performing for the Christian
one
group
walks
from
the
atrium
into
the
in the
another
stands
instruments,
pre
plaza,
playing
to
in the
Several
of the musicians
paring
begin.
plaza
glance
out
at the
two
the
singers
point
approaching
procession;
plaza
approaching
setting
up,
instrumental group to the harp player, who
while
two
others
hand
out
sheet
music.
The
is
A COLONIAL
escolania,
that
PAINTING
223
in the paintings suggests that an
depiction of the musicians
2l school
ANDEAN
taught
and
instrumentation,
singing,
composition to young boys, may have existed at
Chinchero.79 In Spain, the escolania was associated with the
cult of theVirgin of Montserrat, and the boys' performances
formed an integral part of services held for the Virgin. The
boys and young men in the painting are playing mainly
musical
instruments
European
musical
and
performance
sheet music.
carry European
Catholic
for
the
This
re
also
procession
flected the obligation of lower-class indigenous men in terms
of labor and faith: indigenous commoners had to serve the
Spanish government and the Catholic Church, as well as local
leaders.
community
indigenous
The divided obligations of indigenous men can be seen in
the dynamic positioning of the musicians. The attention of
themusicians shiftsaway from the Christian procession in the
atrium to the group of indigenous elite in the town plaza.
The placement of the musicians facing the cacique echoes
the placement of themusic-playing acolytes facing theVirgin
at
of Montserrat
center
the
of
the
That
painting.
is,
the
musicians are positioned as if they are performing for Amau
and the other indigenous elites, rather than in advance of the
priest and the holy procession. Even the second group of
from
those
musicians,
the procession
leading
at a distance
from
placed
are
the plaza,
the
the
to
atrium
group
religious
in such a position that they, too, seem to be playing
primarily for the group of indigenous elites rather than for
the Christian procession.
This juxtaposition of musicians and the cacique adds pres
tige to the cacique and underlines the important role of song
and
in
Inca
exploits
songs
As
ceremonies.
of
their
figured
during
in a
largely
of
members
ancestors
the
important
group
performed
the
sang
panaqas
the
ceremonies,
Dur
memory.80
ing the colonial period, these songs became the foundation
for the histories recorded by the Spanish. Music and song
all
permeated
of
aspects
life, so much
Inca
so
that
12 Virgin
ofMontserrat,
detail
the musicians
showing
(artwork
in the public domain; photograph by the author)
the Span
iards tried to make use of this tradition in their efforts at
For
conversion.
the Catholic
example,
Church
commissioned
and
a haylli,a song used in celebratory triumphs, such as in battle,
for a Corpus
Christi
As
service.81
tioned as important mnemonic
with
and
ritual,
performance,
noted
earlier,
func
songs
devices for the Incas, along
all
buildings,
elements
of
Inca
the act of singing in the Chinchero
public events. Hence,
a
illustrates
celebration
of theVirgin of Montserrat
painting
and Christianity as well as a commemoration of the indige
nous
elite
and
memory
of
the
Inca
past.
positioning of the musicians also follows the Inca
division
articulated by the architecture of the plaza. As
spatial
he did with the dual plaza, Chivantito divided a single group
The
of musicians
consists
of
according
and
singers
to
space
a musician
and
One
activity.
a
playing
stringed
group
instru
ment who are stationed in the plaza with the indigenous
elites. The second group is composed entirely of musicians
playing wind instruments positioned at the threshold be
tween the atrium and the plaza, leading the religious festival
to the
indigenous
community
leaders.
This
arrangement
par
allels the functions of the dual plazas, such that the priest and
acolytes occupy a religious space, while the indigenous civic
authority
claims
musicians,
the
the
complementary
and community
religious
civic
Like
the
space.
are essential
leaders
of a greater
parts
complementary
whole.
has
Chivantito
recast his Christian festival in Inca conceptual terms, high
lighting the coming together of both Christian and Andean
of
understandings
in a
organization
In
this
construction
space,
_
single
representation
of convergent
the visualization
of
artistic
Q9
and
practice,
community
scene.
we
of musicians,
and
religious
in terms
community
we
In the
of clothing,
depiction
are visualized.
of power
centers
see how
We
see
the
artist's
ethnic
of
and
readings
relations.
spatial
or
access,
also
see
how
its lack,
to
nonelite
men and boys serve both the Spanish religious establishment
and indigenous elites in town. Their twofold role ismanifest
act of singing. With a slight
in their illustrated action?the
Chivantito
shift,
successfully created multiple
compositional
of
this
scene,
readings
enabling the Catholic faithful to read
a sacred
Christian
procession
while
the
indigenous
audience
could view an image celebrating their own
triumphal imperial Inca past. A Catholic indigenous viewer
(perhaps themajority in Chinchero) could understand both
in Chinchero
narratives.
Thus,
viewers,
depending
on
their
ethnicity
and
religious beliefs, could have significantly different interpre
tations of the same scene. As he did with the depiction of
local history and indig
architecture, Chivantito manipulated
ART BULLETIN
224
2007 VOLUME
JUNE
LXXXIX
NUMBER
2
13 Virgin ofMontserrat,
detail
showing
the women
in the plaza
in
(artwork
the public domain; photograph by the
author)
enous
visual
to
culture
a
produce
narrative
layered
plays the realities of colonial Chinchero
that dis
while celebrating
memory.
indigenous
Representing Gender at Chinchero
Indigenous memory could be recalled
different
for a variety
and
ways
and
in
celebrated
period.
Women
illustrating
could
they allowed
Catholic
Church
to
status
their
unique
take part
not
in the
in many
participate
and Spanish
in
of
colonial
the Roman
mar
This
government.
European-looking
women
dean
in the
in
female
are
the
pilgrimage
woman
appears
is
she
also
For
painting.
marginalized,
stands alone.
The
absent
largely
a
not
example,
scene.
canvas.
in the entire
portrayed
An
from many
of the scenes
woman
is depicted
place
where
women
have
a
is
presence
in the town plaza, which celebrates imperial Inca elites (Fig.
13). As
the
large
noted
cacique
ceramic
two women
earlier,
two other
while
jars.
are
women
the
Despite
shown
are
walking
as
portrayed
presence
Spanish
behind
carrying
in the re
gion for one hundred and fiftyyears, their clothing shows few
signs of Spanish influence.
The
aqsu,83
torso,
women
wear
a
large
textile
edges
raised
its
called a chumpihelped
not
of
approve
revealing.
A
slit
this
a
traditional
that was
and
Inca
wrapped
at
pinned
woman's
around
the
the
dress,
the woman's
shoulders.84
A
belt
to secure the dress.85 The Spanish did
as
dress,
indigenous
sometimes
formed
where
it was
the
considered
textile
came
together on the side, presumably giving an occasional flash of
naked
sponse,
wear
an
Inca
cloth
ing,
the
cloth
is
a woman
or a wind
walked
blew.86
legs when
women
the Spanish
mandated
that Andean
In
wear
re
a
Spanish-style slip under their traditional dresses for the sake
band
a Spanish
in the plaza have added
On
their
aqsu.87
a wincha.88
called
a
called
On
of
top
this
they
in the
However,
?a?aqa89
in a
European
draped
two women
heads,
paint
rather
than
manner
folded in typical elite Inca fashion.90
shawl
women
in
or mantle,
the
also
painting
the Inca
which
on
have
a
called
the
traditional
lliklla.91 The
women
in the painting wore the shawl, like the aqsu, in the traditional
way, with the llikllapinned across the chest with a ttipquiand
hanging down the leg.92And the lliklla, like the aqsu and the
tunics,
has
Andean
edge
as Elena
overstated,
mark
of
an
Inca
that
bindings
to be
appear
importance of the lliklla cannot be
typical of Chinchero. The
notes:
Phipps
woman's
"This
was
mantle
its color,
identity:
the hall
and
design,
patterning spoke to her position in society, including place of
clan
region,
the men's
origin,
While
single
one
Similarly,
only
indigenous
in the
in the church
and
atrium,
gathering
as she
the Christian
watching
procession
only
colorful
men's
ginalization of women during the Spanish occupation, both
publicly and privately, can be seen in the painting. Although
the central figure is theVirgin of Montserrat, she is the only
their
a
The
nor were
escolania,
aspects
colonial
the
underneath
slip
wear
In Chivantito's
of purposes.
painting, this practice is particularly evident in the depiction
of women,
of modesty. The women
and
(ayllu),
marital
can
clothing
be
status."93
divided
between
tradi
tional Spanish and indigenous
influences, the lliklladisplays
an
not
that does
techniques
contact
with Spanish
culture.
evolution
seem
to be
in traditional
the
Andean
of direct
result
lliklla depicted in the painting are not in the style or
technique of the imperial Inca period. During the reign of
the Inca, the llikllawas composed of a single panel, divided
lengthwise in equal thirds and worn horizontally. A special
shawl used in sacrifices had two panels with the design near
but not at the edges. The middle color differed from that of
The
the ends.
The
seam
that joined
was
the panels
not
part
of
the
design. By contrast, themodern (not colonial) stylehad two
panels with patterns along both edges of each panel and was
worn horizontally.94 It is this latter style that is illustrated in
the painting.
Therefore,
what
appears
to be
imperial
Inca
is
not, highlighting the fact that change in the Andes was not
always the result of Spanish influence. The llikllaworn by the
women in the painting are large, which is typical of Chin
chero
This
textiles
both
representation
indigenous
cultural
past
and present.
in the
of women
evolution
that
town
occurred
visualizes
plaza
in the colonial
A COLONIAL
was
but
period
not
determined
was
culture
Indigenous
both
before
velop
and
the
by
never
stagnant;
the European
after
tion
Spanish
occupation.
to de
it continued
invasion.
is critical to highlight the dramatic changes that took place
of
because
define
of
the violence
and
the Andes
the
the
these
Europe,
The
period.
encounter
cultural
transformations
visualization
between
not
did
always
of
interindigenous
reminder
that indig
culture
also
the
canvas.
Instead
women
tion
whose
are
heads
elsewhere.
or
Inca.
near
the
to be
pears
elite
talking
second
This
The
rule.95
other
to someone
shown
woman,
and
women,
ad
with
in
jar
ap
the rest
As
of the people gather to await the Corpus Christi procession,
this woman
turns
on
event
another
her
to the
procession,
back
not
shown,
reminding
viewer
of
the
life not depicted in this scene.
The visualization of the female claim to the imperial Inca
realities of Chinchero
past
and
sidering
European
Andean
sense
con
of most
make
things European
rejection
status of women.
the
historical
the
Before
changing
women
an
could
role
in
invasion,
play
important
women
a few
inherit
could
while
land,
society. Many
states
ruled
and
shrines.
important
for Andean
sion,
empires,
This
as
women,
forced
some
and
is not
to
there were
and
marriages,
larly by invading
regimes
the European
traditional
invasion,
pendence
women.
Spanish
and
Some
and
the
trying
to
practice
for
to this
oppression
a role
as
assuming
of the Andes.
occupation
Yachacuscamcani
is the Quechua
traditions
of the Andean
As
past.
shown,
even
They
particu
after
However,
avenues
Andean
traditions
and
indigenous
religion.96
active
of
Yachacuscamcani
practitioners
of oppres
them,
against
Incas.
to close,
authority
began
women
reacted
influences
instances
many
as
of
priestesses
idealized
world
an
suggest
violence
such
as
served
of
Inca
elite
of
protectors
the most
the
during
Spanish
engaged
word
for
Thomas
knowing
Cummins
in
Yachacuscamcani
the Spanish. While
in a
the
the
has
colonial
codependent
with
relationship
the Spanish usurped the elites' traditional
power, the Spanish gave the Inca nobility what little power
they had. Subsequently, Inca elites had to work with the
Spanish
in order
This depiction
provides
cuscamcani
an
to retain
that power.
of elite indigenous women
to
clue
important
center
in a
Inca
royal
chero
figure
A woman
in Chinchero
of
Yacha
occupa
Inca
named
Ana
a historical
echoes
past
in two
discussed
Chin
doc
written
sixteenth-century
was
Ocllo
an
Guaco
important
to an
she had been married
Although
indigenous
came
not from him but from her
her vast
man,
landholding
to an
Her
the
ruler
Tnka.
marriage
grandfather,
Thupa
man
as most
is particularly
Inca
elite
indigenous
important,
women who gained
so
did
by marrying
Guaco
port,
land rights during the colonial period
a
Ocllo
who
Spaniard
his
those
in Cuzco,
residence
royal
colonial
Chinchero.
ancestry
rather
We
have
Ocllo
throughout
the sacred
neither
looked
Her
than
like
have
been
But
primarily
powerful
was drawn
including
Inca
capi
or
Spanish
in
people
from
her
Guaco
that
imagine
her
in the Chinchero painting,
and
indigenous
textsdescribing Guaco Ocllo's
advo
around
relationships.
of what
description
one
can
clothing, like that of these women
may
imperial
than a
Spanish
nor
image
or wore.
lands
the Andes,
authority
from
as her
lacking this sup
Tnka's
Thupa
an
woman?rather
indigenous
man?was
one
of the most
indigenous
early
Inca
as
serve
could
system.Despite
inherited
as well
Chinchero
Inca.
The
written
family and landholding, along
the representation
of elite women
in Chivantito's
paint
women
that
in
used
Chinchero
Yachacuscamcani
ing, suggest
as a local
to claim
status
Inca
and
their ancestral
strategy
with
authority.
the
Indeed,
a
powerful
their
display
most
one.
things
in the town
of women
representation
plaza
or action,
Whether
in dress
all four women
close
as
space
that accommodated
that of
In
the men.
enunciated
tations
and
the
into
Chivantito
radical
Indigenous
by subverting
visualizing
Liminal Space and the Representation
indigenous
took
his
in
local
indig
a female
distinct
and
in
from
autonomy
represen
traditions.
of Europeans
to
unusual
the diversity
of
capture
pains
life in his painting,
the
artist's
revealing
priorities.
His detailed portrayal of indigenous people
with
of
patriarchal
indigenous
vi
While
depicted
authority
European
dynamic
are
traditions
interventions
female
and,
of
power
is
of
is marked
power.
are
culture
Spanish
culture
local material
the gendered
painting,
refutation
their
indigenous
sources
within
translated
they
that enhanced
women.
vibrant
from
and
past
difference
local
and
dynamic
influences
enous
Inca
Here,
European.
are
corporated,
a manner
are
to the
ties
Yachacuscamcani,
through
sualized
Chivantito
act
gendered
the
during
Spanish
the
representation
from their imperial
unexpected
period involved a very delicate balancing act.97At Chinchero,
Inca elites had the responsibility of Yachacuscamcani but were
simultaneously
This
inde
by rejecting
became
and
less European-medi
performed,
the Inca
past.98
women
of elite
indigenous
drawing
visually
pronounced,
of
ated
celebration
tal.99 Thus,
concentrating
the
to Chinchero.
banished
a
cate in the Spanish judicial
moving
musicians,
the canvas.
beyond
either
away with ajar
was a common
son was
'Inka's
Thupa
landowner.
jar, with
be
local
so in a
Inca ancestry,
way
unique
specific
doing
an
In Chivan
of
and embraced
identity
place.
we
see difference
in
tito's
unexpected
portrayal,
mapped
act
in
the
such
that
the
of
Yachacuscamcani
ways
clothing,
tradi
while
very localized
celebrating
incorporates
change
In the Chinchero
of
tions.
the women's
practice
painting,
took the form of a
unlike
that of the men,
Yachacuscamcani,
uments.
woman
whose
woman,
face, walks
bottom.
men,
one
walls,
a very distinct
fostered a strong local identity that drew from and
power
atten
their
in ajar.
This
a handle.
It may
has
the
her
pointed
Inca
imperial
from
indigenous
have
focused
see
we
Chinchero,
225
that enhanced
on
two
the
leaders,
water
top and
on
represented
Christi
proces
the Corpus
the niched
to catch
a
and
of
contrast,
By
is etched
age
vancing
a
long neck
the time of
away
for
uncovered
Depicted
to be
appears
straining
a flat bottom,
flares on
Spanish
of the women
of
waiting
to the elite group
to come
sion
of some
in the actions
but
when
period,
This
celebrated
in this
offers a critical
painting
was
to evolve
vibrant
within
itself?
enough
contact
and
of
direct
with
Europe
Europeans.
irrespective
of
with
The
elaboration
traditions
the
along
indigenous
and
of
culture
sometimes
marginalization
rejection
Spanish
can be seen not
in the elite
dress
women's
only
indigenous
change
enous
At
PAINTING
strategydeveloping, one likelybegun in the late imperial Inca
it
While
the Andes.
of
ANDEAN
presentation
of
people
of
European
contrasts sharply
descent,
who
226
ART BULLETIN
LXXXIX
2007 VOLUME
JUNE
NUMBER
2
14 Virgin ofMontserrat,
the Christian
procession
detail
showing
in the atrium
(artwork in the public domain;
photograph by the author)
occupy the periphery in this section of the composition. One
is a Christian leader, possibly a priest or bishop, who stands
a
under
and
canopy
is surrounded
by
indigenous
worshipers
priest's clothes are only minimally
(Fig. 14).100 The
illus
a
to be
cleric's
cloak.
appears
wearing
simple
wear
tu
shoes
The
and
brown
acolytes
Spanish
indigenous
are
nics with only nominal
decoration.
Some
in
draped
plain,
trated
but
he
white religious dress. The priest and acolytes are painted with
minimal detail and their faces and clothing are not well
articulated but blurry.101 In contrast to the individualized
of the indigenous
elite men,
and musi
women,
treats
the acolytes
remain
undifferentiated.
Chivantito
as a distant
nameless
the priest
lower-class
among
figure
scene
a tech
This
of the atrium
reflects
acolytes.
blurring
depiction
cians,
nique
effective
as well
not
unusual
of
the
time,
as
it is an
on the action
in front,
for focusing
attention
as
in the scene. The
distance
result
is that
emphasizing
has
the
made
the focal
space,
The
painters
strategy
Chivantito
lower
among
of
depiction
space,
indigenous
of his town scene.
point
the architecture
in
the
the
hurin,
atrium
or
mimics the illustration of the figures in that the atrium is
devoid of indigenous elites or imperial Inca architectural
references. As opposed to the impressive backdrop of the
Inca niched wall in the plaza scene, the buildings around the
atrium are all Spanish in style.As this differs from the actual
physical
sion on
landscape,
the part of
to omit
the
to arise
it appears
the artist.
imperial
Inca
bases
a conscious
from
For
example,
of the wall
Chivantito
of the church,
deci
chose
nor
did he illustrate the impressive northern facade, with its Inca
stone entranceway (Fig. 15). While
it is possible that the
stones
Inca
imperial
were
stuccoed
over
at
some
point,
the
Inca north facade projects out from the rest of the building,
it to be read as a distinct feature. Yet Chivantito
enabling
painted
void
of
a
plain,
any
post-and-lintel
This
arch.102
church
de
facade,
European-style
even
the Inca,
the
transforming
structure
to a
of the Inca entrance
European
as
is particularly
the stones
and
significant,
flat,
references
and
to
residence
royal
of Thupa
erased
In
contradiction
space.
sharp
vantito
transformed
ropean
ones.
rative,
In
all
eliminating
to the
physical
Inca
it into
transforming
By
to the
this
refer
the imperial Inca history of this
rewrote
one
very
Chi
evidence,
to Eu
in the atrium
references
so, he
doing
to have belonged
Tnka.103
ence, Chivantito
the
nar
architectural
different
from
a
what
depiction of the actual Inca built environment would have
to the audience.
conveyed
an
reified
The
is of
Inca
However,
through
this device,
of plazas.
understanding
in the
of the
conveyed
painting
he
spatial
message
two
cultural
separate
landscapes,
each
town
with
center
a distinct
locus of authority. The plaza ismanifestly an elite indigenous
space,
clearly
on
centering
a Catholic
an
Inca history.
The
imperial
one
that allows
indigenous
space,
atrium
is
partici
pation but draws from a European authority. The distant
Christian group procession in the atrium (which also incor
scenes
porates
scene
are believed
church foundations
of everyday
disorder)104
the
represents
hanan
space of religious authority, while the carefully detailed
elites
digenous
hanan
Although
of
the central
was
represent
plaza
the upper
traditionally
the hurin
or more
in
space.
powerful
category, Chivantito gave pictorial precedence to the indige
nous hurin scene in his painting, thereby celebrating indige
nous life even as he acknowledged Spanish and Christian
authority.
The
figures
in
the
two
spaces
of
the
town
present
the
diversity and complementary roles of insiders, to which Chi
vantito
added
the town
plaza,
an
of
image
a lone
figure
one
who
stands
not
does
Below
belong.
in the shadows
of an arch,
dressed in dark pilgrimage clothing typical of contemporary
European paintings (Fig. 16). He wears the standard Chris
tian pilgrim hat, cloak, and stockings and carries the typical
pilgrim's hiking stick.His skin is light, and he has a full beard
and bushy eyebrows, signs that the pilgrim is not indigenous
but of full or partial European ancestry. Oddly, the pilgrim is
represented as having two right hands.105 His thicklybearded
A COLONIAL
indigenous
with
gathering
some
to be inspecting the
suspicion.
The depiction of a pilgrim in the painting makes sense, as
pilgrimage was an important part of the cult of theVirgin of
Montserrat in Spain. Today, it is the most visited Marian
shrine in Europe, as it has been for over a millennium. In
Spain, visitors work their way through a sacred landscape
dotted with chapels and shrines offering spaces for prayer.
The question is how this practice was translated, both in
physical and in conceptual terms, to theNew World. Whether
pilgrimage was continued at Chinchero is unclear.106 But if
Spanish pilgrims visited the church of Nuestra
Montserrat,
Chivantito's
suggests
painting
that
Se?ora
de
not
they may
have been welcomed by the local indigenous inhabitants.
Indeed, both the Catholic Church and indigenous leaders
viewed
unofficial
European
visitors
to
indigenous
communi
tieswith suspicion, as their presence often led to various types
of abuses of indigenous people.
In his translation to the New World context, the Spanish
looking pilgrim in Chinchero ismarked as an outsider in the
indigenous town, but he also is grounded in the Andean
context by the addition of an indigenous bag and Inca tunic.
In the Andes, both indigenous men and women carried
names.
was called
A woman's
bags, with different
bag
were
'istalla and a man's
to
used
bag
cWuspa. Both
primarily
antidote
for altitude
sickness
and
leaves, an herbal
carry coca
similar
hunger that played an important role inAndean culture and
rituals.107 Europeans traveling in the Inca heartland adapted
the
indigenous
bag
for
their
own
use,
in
this
case,
as
European
elements
to
representations
of
indigenous
people,
transculturation in the Andes,
indigenous
other.
leaving littlewritten about the visual transformation of Euro
peans in the Andes.109 In Chivantito's image of the light
skinned pilgrim wearing some indigenous clothing (such as
the Inca tunic and indigenous bag), we see the full process of
227
are
people
inwhich both European
transformed
contact
by
and
one
with
an
Interestingly, this transculturated pilgrim is the only figure
to overtly occupy a liminal space in the painting. He does not
stand with the European (s) in the Christianized space of the
atrium, nor ishe depicted in the indigenous space of the plaza.
Instead, he isplaced below the plaza, poised at the threshold,
under the Spanish-style arch and at the edge of the painting
itself.He belongs neither to the indigenous elite scene in the
plaza nor to the Christian faithful in the atrium. This man is
marked
his
through
worlds,
transculturated
between
standing
the
as
dress
of
edges
the
between
being
canvas
and
the
imperial Inca space. As depicted by Chivantito, the transcul
man
turated
belongs
while
space
nowhere.
is the transculturated pilgrim placed
Why
the
elite men,
indigenous
also
in this liminal
marked
trans
by
culturated dress, are located firmly and centrally in indige
nous space? As Carolyn Dean and Dana Leibsohn have
establishing
transculturated
or
hybrid
pretation.110
Spanish
male
Western
have
derived
However,
For
were
of
culture,
scholars
today
as
seen
on
depends
can
in
inter
read
clearly
may
aspects
elements
have
been
in Chinchero
residents
indigenous
those
read
dress of Amau
than
of difference,
material
the
roots of certain elements of the indigenous elite
dress.
not
elements
out,
pointed
an
version of a European pilgrimage satchel. From its
shape, edge binding, and straps, the bag the pilgrim in
Chinchero carries is clearly identifiable as Andean.108
Traditionally, scholarship has focused on the addition of
Andean
PAINTING
*"
.*?
?^sms
:f?h? r*taffin;
nw?im:
;.'4<: illlss?p
WEm*
Wwwl
Fllt^i
^'iH^^^I^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^EraPi?^*
??ill'j?'
nn ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
i|HBHilii||i||||ipM
face is shown in profile, and he appears
ANDEAN
as
These
Spanish.
seen as a natural
may
European
of the
part
and other elites, signifying authority rather
Spanishness.111
elite men,
indigenous
translated
indigenous
into
material
indigenous
culture.
the elements
dress,
of
thus
In contrast,
dress
European
a
part
becoming
a man
of full or
partial European descent with indigenous elements in his
clothing would likely have been read by Chivantito and the
residents of Chinchero as a hybrid man, who belonged to
neither
different,
nor
as
Thus
marked
groups.
indigenous
of any clear
the
hovers
community,
pilgrim
not
of a liminal
space,
belonging
anywhere.112
European
not
part
in the shadows
This portrayal of a transculturated pilgrim, shrouded
in
228
ART BULLETIN
JUNE
2007 VOLUME
NUMBER
LXXXIX
2
rule was
Inca
perial
element
in a
plan
notions
Inca
reflect
of
environment
of
worshiped
Incas
drew
isolated
royal
architectural
as
sacred
as
shrines
residence
control
that
sequences
in a
sacred
For
spaces.
choreographed
one
but
the
itselfwas highly ritualized: Apus were
and
deities
their
and
hierarchy
carefully
Inca, the landscape
venerated
an
not
of deliberate
ideas
the
of
rock
unusual
As
for Pachamama.
the
earlier,
from
landscape
were
outcrops
described
pan-Andean
perspectives, which shared beliefs in Apus and Pachamama
across the vastAndes (albeit with subtle regional variations).
was
The
landscape
and how
sacred,
as
viewed
one
and
alive,
dynamic,
powerful,
or interacted
with
altered,
changed,
this
landscape was highly charged.
The Incas took advantage of this view of the landscape by
In
the
the
landscape,
to themselves.
And
power
landscape's
into
and mountain
rock outcrops
peaks
sent
that they were
the message
Incas
sacred
by integrating
their structures,
vener
and
sacred
the
transforming
transferred
Incas
at critical
terraces
and
shrines,
buildings,
placing
ated
locations.
the
physically and spiritually linked with the sacred places and
access
controlled
then
They
pantheon.
a
through
strictly
regulated road system,which could be used only by those
on
people traveling with official permission. Being caught
these roads without official permission was punishable by
imperial
to almost
all
access
state
Inca
The
death.
the
sacred
in controlling
thus
succeeded
sites
in the Andes.
can be
This articulation and regulation of the landscape
seen
at
Chinchero.
was
architecture
Here,
to mark
built
an extensive
road
connected
sites
that were
by
important
out from Chinchero,
it
roads
radiated
Several
linking
system.
to the
in the public
domain;
by the author)
photograph
of the
Inca
private
Inca Empire,
and
on
spying
an Andean
scene,
differs
greatly
from
that of the idealized pilgrims on the other side of the paint
ing, shown praying, bathed in light (Figs. 17, 18). The pil
scene
grimage
At the bottom
pean
depicts
of the
in
descent
both
scene,
tattered
European
a
graying
pilgrim
and
bearded
clothing
men.
indigenous
man
of Euro
to a
prays
diselike impression of a heavenly male pilgrimage. Churches
crown
thoroughly
orful bird
the
surrounding
Christianized
above
sings
landscape.
the
can
mountains,
indicating
a col
In the
foreground
a
pilgrims.113
Cuzco.
The
of
points
What
to a
of the landscape
in the pilgrimage
in the Chinchero
absence
striking
from the townscape
excluded
town
is as
Chivantito
scene
scene.
telling
as
is the rich land
town
under
beyond
the
of Chinchero.
located
The
imperial
Inca
of
memory
is still feltmany centuries after
of
the power
of
the
landscape
surround
a very different,
to portray
chose
Chivantito
ing Chinchero,
His
version
of the local Andean
Christian
landscape.
painting
no references
to any of the related
Inca sites
contains
beyond
areas within
sacred
the town, or to the traditional
it, such as
two
have been
represented
buildings
to the
church
left,
Virgin's
beyond
is a
of the
The
other
rests near
the skirt of one
angels.114
out of
trees
to be in
with
house
that appears
growing
decay,
occurrence
a
in abandoned
the adobe
melt,
highland
typical
a rustic,
shows
It also
homes
19).115
European-style
(Fig.
rocks.
the carved
the
Only
town.
a
One,
small
fence, further intimating that the past indigenous life of this
what he included. And what he excluded
scape
of Machu
all
the Europeans.
because
dead. Given
Landscapes
celebration
complex
of Peccacachu,
their major
had
of the later ones,
center
of the
and
ceremonial
the capital
as the sacred
such
Pan-Andean
Apus,
as local ones,
as well
such as Antakilke,
and its landscape
Chinchero
landscape?one
Ambiguous
and
Salcantay,
seen
from Chinchero.
be
Perhaps
cross
men
are
crosses.
Above
the indigenous
they carry pilgrimage
more
As stated
there are no
all
earlier,
Europeans.
pilgrims,
a para
scene
on
women
The
this side of the painting.
gives
crosses
mountain
the arrival
(Fig. 18). Above him are two indigenous men in ethnically
mixed clothing (Fig. 17). Like all the pilgrims in this group,
and
storage
and most
rulers,
estates)
darkness
the
Bajo,
Cuper
tambo (way station)
the
within the landed estate. The roads also linked Chinchero to
the greater landscape of theUrubamba Valley (where several
16 Virgin ofMontserrat,detail showing the lone pilgrim
(artwork
at
shrine
and
Coica,
Chinchero
im
torical
from
separate
the
Christian
present?is
the powerful role that buildings played
remembrance
for
the
Incas,
the elimination
in his
of much
of the imperial Inca built environment around Chinchero
suggests an intentional reimaging of the local landscape by
land
Chivantito. This despoliation view of the Chinchero
scape
contrasts
sharply
with
the pilgrimage
scene.
While
the
A COLONIAL
scene
the
Chinchero
dark,
and flowers.
birds,
figures,
In his
Chivantito
large painting,
pains
local
Andean
mountains
scape,
European
resemble
(Fig. 20).
such
separate
one.
In
the
sandstone
the
Santiago
painting,
to have
appears
taken
as a
around Chinchero
from
the
the
that
a
evokes
the
scene,
of Montserrat
the Montserrat
the mountains
Chinchero
land
similarly
display heavily eroded sedimentary formations (Fig. 8). In
both the Santiago and Chinchero paintings, the Spanish
any
other
must
have
crowned
229
that
from
markedly
a
type within
Montserrat
added
surfaces
representation
chapels?a
detail
landscape.
Chivantito
around
paints
seen
the peaks
in the rest of
painting
single
artwork,
this alteration.
around
following
the
formations that predominate
tito's
and
Christianized
(Fig. 21). Such a change
the mountains
exterior
crosses
with
thoroughly
the mountains
differ
the painting
mountain
complementary
pilgrimage
landscape
In other artwork depicting
as
are
mountains
menacing,
However,
the landscape
landscape
Christianized
and
abandoned,
landscape is light,open, and filled with holy
to distinguish
PAINTING
the
bythe ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H
looks
landscape
the Christianized
ANDEAN
town
more
in the depiction
cannot
be
that
indicating
In the Chinchero
are
closely
rugged,
the
of
found
in
Chivantito
painting,
with
rough
metamorphic
in the region (Fig. 22). Chivan
of Chinchero
and
its landscape
in such
ART BULLETIN
230
JUNE
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2
The
of
message
this
have
would
representation
resonated
stronglywith the indigenous audience as theygazed up at the
from
image
In
the
nave.
church's
localizing
European
the Andes
scapes,
His
today.118
the
in
also
landscape paintings known in
came
model
European
only
Chivantito
iconography,
vented one of the few colonial
from
landscape
land
Flemish
a
to have
tradition
significant impact on the emerging painting traditions of the
colonial New World. Prints and paintings of Flemish land
scapes, first introduced to Spain, became favored in Seville
and subsequently were brought to theAmericas in significant
numbers.
scapes,
paint Flemish
no
scenes,
an
doubt
copying
landscapes
land
World
European
as background
in the Andes,
oddity
New
local
of painting
artists
indigenous
would
where
prototypes
for their
the environ
looks strikinglydifferent. Flemish-style landscapes were
ment
also
instead
Hence,
as
used
a
in
for
paintings
religious-themed
centu
and
seventeenth
sixteenth
background
the
late
during
Mexico
ries.119
In
one
the Andes,
who
painter
favored
landscapes
adding
to his paintings was the indigenous artistDiego Quispe Tito,
who is believed to have trained Chivantito. Quispe Tito was
greatly influenced by the landscape paintings of Hans Bol,
J?os de Momper, and Paul Bril. Quispe Tito was so enamored
of Flemish landscapes that he often sacrificed the overt story
the
conveyed
by
more
devote
Tito's
Quispe
in a
scene
to
in order
religious
behind
the
landscape
figures.120
a Flemish
albeit
the landscape,
one,
characters
space
to
focus
on
the
to think of
may have been what led his student Chivantito
as a
landscapes
of
element
significant
the painting.
This emphasis, along with the split in the artists' guild,
vantito
scene
by the author)
in the public
(artwork
domain;
beliefs
and
a
strong
of
intolerance
in the
set
late
these
seventeenth
two distinct
landscapes
Virgin
Tito's
Quispe
among
opposite
stroyed by angels.116 Given that the audience for the painting
would have been local indigenous people who would have
iconography
and
tain,"
European
one must
the Apu
and
its destruction,
reacted.
In the same way
that Chivantito
in the town scene,
he took the
reading
moun
of the
of Montserrat,
her
"sawed
Virgin
localized
it. In the process,
Chivantito
the
gave
convergent
iconography
a
distinctly
Andean
meaning.
Rather
than simply serving as a symbol of the sitewhere theVirgin's
holy image first appeared, the saw and the mountain in the
Chinchero
the
local
visualize
and
landscape
sacred mountain
by agents
enact
of
the destruction
the Christian
Chi
given
of a regional,
have
may
depiction
unique
indigenous
of
god.117
process,
a
scenes.121
from
four
influence
the
to
of
a con
landscape;
artists
indigenous
region,
re
the
depict
life (through its architecture and peo
own
need
and
the
an
by
Tito while
Chivantito's
Thus,
aspects:
con
painters
life in the Cuzco
emphasis on the (Flemish)
practices
to
a
paint
local,
of
importance
The
audience.122
depicting
on
urban
among
the
local landscape. During
worked,
arose
Chivantito's
ple);
Chinchero
scene;
was created
ing
enous
artistic
a
and
alism of indigenous
for men,
the other
and
dark,
only
indigenous
seemingly
most
abandoned.
Most
he
articulated
the
important,
peak
as
to the local
cut down
sacred
and
de
population
being
created
realism,
concentration
desire
the Andean
recognized
how
they
Chivantito
a new
sides of the painting: one Christian and heavenly, reserved
readily
wonder
develop
people
Montserrat
of
temporary
century.
on
local
his
formed to artistic traits typical of Diego Quispe
indigenous
(such as the worship of sacred mountains)
Chivantito
in which
introducing
as on
such
population
Christians
scope
period
photograph
a fashion reflects the growth of Christianity among the indig
enous
to
religious, and highly charged
18 Virgin ofMontserrat,detail showing a pilgrim from the
pilgrimage
a new
introduced
which
the
recognizable
in Chivantito's
landscape
pioneered
Chivantito's
desire
indig
sacredness?
environment.
local, highly charged
a new
artistic
paint
from
artist?drawing
indigenous
of
and
understanding
Chivantito
for
landscape
genre
In
the
for
the
of
the
Andes.
While
local
Chinchero
message
specific
landscape
or
meaning
a
to portray
is evident,
he
potent
it remains
intended
that
vision
unclear
what
to
landscape
convey to his local indigenous audience. His depiction of the
sacred Spanish landscape of Montserrat is idealized and cel
ebratory,
tectural
while
landscape
his
of Chinchero's
image
is a
but overall
complex
local indigenous life and history. These
contrast
either
to his
desiccated
illustration
or
erased
of a
from
sacred
view.
cultural
and
affirmative
archi
view
of
images stand in stark
Inca
Indeed,
that
landscape
the mountain
is
A COLONIAL
ANDEAN
PAINTING
231
detail
ofMontserrat,
showing
of the decaying
house
and
19 Virgin
the scene
overgrown
behind
vegetation
Chinchero (artwork in the public
domain; photograph by the author)
of a portion
20 View
of
the mountain
ofMontserrat, Spain (photograph by
the author)
most sacred to the indigenous residents of Chinchero
one
Chivantito
but
scape
wielding
represented
one
that
also
angels.
as
There
was
are
an Andean
from
attack
under
two, perhaps
is the
Montserrat
three,
land
the
saw
read
potential
ings of this portrayal of the indigenous landscape. It is
possible that the artistwished to express an indictment of the
Christian
that was
destruction
meant
to
of
indigenous
the
galvanize
sacred
indigenous
a view
landscapes,
audience
that
worshiped in the church but still venerated the sacred Apu (a
practice that continues today). Another possibility is that
Chivantito
saw
in transforming
thus
serving
as a celebration
the
as a
image
non-Christian
cautionary
of Catholic
and
religious
practices
tale for those not willing
haps
was
commenting
on
the violent
the Andes.
tion
viewers
For modern-day
remains
unanswered
is subversive,
triumphal,
as
or
The Artist, theAudience,
of
to whether
even
and conquer
the ques
the painting,
Chivantito's
message
ambivalent.
and the Painting as Cultural
Mediators
The
Virgin
example
of
formed,
and
Francisco
ofMontserrat
by
how
traditions
artistic
translated
while
subject
serves
Chivantito
are
to extended
places,
to
give
performance
changes
he
of Corpus
Christi
at Chinchero,
imported
European
prototypes
translated Old World
into
an
colonial
redefinition. In his depiction of buildings, people,
trayed one reality of themidcolonial
as
trans
mimicked,
success
up their traditional non-Christian religious beliefs. Or per
Chivantito
witnessed during this struggle to Christianize
and the
Chivantito
por
period on his canvas. He
the Andean
context
symbols and artistic practices
and
into a
ART BULLETIN
232
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2
21 Virgin ofMontserrat,detail showing
the angels
sawing
behind
the town
the mountain
in the
(artwork
public domain; photograph by the
author)
22 View
of
local Apu,
Chinchero
the mountain
Antakilke,
as
and
seen
the
from
(photograph by the
author)
localized
set the
visual
stage
In
forgetting.
stood
making
but
The
vocabulary.
also became
this way,
through Andean
the
possible
built
spatial and
were
places
under
spiritual conceptions,
new
of
imagination
only
and
for remembrance
colonial
Spanish
not
environment
a vehicle
transcultura
ted
the
that
the process,
the painting
and
residents
characterized
articulated
exposed
the
the midcolonial
the divergent
complex
period.
Chinchero
society
was
greatly
lives of
entanglements
one
Over
hun
dred and fiftyyears after the arrival of Europeans
Andes,
affected?but
in the
not
de
the Spanish invasion. As a local indigenous artist
fined?by
for
his hometown audience, Chivantito managed to
painting
capture
and
address
the nuanced,
to
describing
in his
Yachacuscamcani
an
actual
the
event,
In addition
painting.
celebration
of
Corpus
Christi, he visualized the past in such a way that itwould be
recognizable and meaningful to his audience. Yet by adding
of
images
and
despoliation
to the
transformation
traditional
iconography of the Virgin of Montserrat, Chivantito
spaces.
In
and
difference,
local
ideas
of
sacredness,
the viewer
Chivantito's
underscores
on
to reflect
complex
the
issue
the
cost
of violent
cultural
invited
change.
and highly localized depiction
of methodology
in the
study
also
of paint
ings. To examine the Virgin ofMontserrat largely in terms of a
regional
zation
must
or a visual
tradition
painting
expression
is to miss most
of Chivantito's
narrative.
understand
conceptual
worlds
the
complex
shared
by
visual,
the
artist
physical,
the
and
of
Instead,
coloni
one
and
spatial,
of
residents
A COLONIAL
the
town
from
methods,
and
ological
the
perceive
intricate
narrative
so
skill
in thispainting. This has required a variety of
fully composed
research
to
in order
and
iconographie
Such
ethnographic.
an
to archae
archival
approach
reveals
the
of peo
artistic understanding
extraordinary
in Cuzco
in areas
the centers
of
beyond
production
ple living
and Lima?areas
that may
have
been
by Spanish
provincial
centers
of
artistic
standards
but were
imperial
indigenous
invasion.
and after the Spanish
long before
practices
complexity
and
Stella
assistant
Nah,
professor
at
the University
at
of California
Riverside, received an MArch and a PhD from theUniversity of
California at Berkeley.She isworking on a monograph investigating
the architectural,
chero from
an
spatial,
imperial
and
Inca
landscape
estate to an
transformations
indigenous
of
colonial
Chin
town
[Department ofHistory ofArt, 222 Arts Building, University of
California at Riverside, 900 UniversityAvenue, Riverside, Calif
92521-0319,
[email protected]].
Notes
I am indebted to numerous people and institutions: Thomas Cummins, for
invitingme to give a talk at the University of Chicago and encouraging me to
pursue this topic; Carolyn Dean, for sharing insights and answering questions
at important junctures inmy explorations; Nicholas Penny, who pushed me to
investigate Montserrat in Spain; and Ann Rowe, for sharing her knowledge of
Andean
textiles. In addition, I would like to thank Melissa Chatfield and
Richard Kagan for loaning their photographs and Eirik Johnson for helping
I
the Chivantito painting under the worst of circumstances.
photograph
would also like to thank the following people for their comments and criti
cisms at various stages of this project: the two anonymous reviewers for The Art
Bulletin, Kevin Carr, Preeti Chopra, Finbarr Barry Flood, Rebecca Ginsburg,
Jeremy Mumford, and Jason Weems, along with my cohorts at the Michigan
Society of Fellows. If, despite their best efforts, any mistakes remain, they are
mine alone. I would also like to thank my friends in Chinchero and Cuzco, in
particular, Simeona Sallo and Amelia Perez Trujillo. The Center for Ad
vanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art, the Fulbright
Institute for International Education, and the Edilia and Fran?ois-Auguste de
Junior Fellowship from the Society of Architectural Historians
Mont?quin
provided funding for this project.
1. A note on Quechua
orthography: Since the sounds used inQuechua
are distinctly different from those of European
languages, coupled
with the uneven colonial sources, there is stillmuch debate on the
words. For example, the artist's
proper spelling of colonial Quechua
name has been written as Chivantito, Chihuantito, and Chiwantito.
This is because the colonial Spanish "v" often, but not always, repre
sented what we now pronounce as "w" or "hua." However, as there is
no agreement on the correct spelling (or for thatmatter, the specific
of this artist's name, I am using the spelling used in
pronunciation)
his own signature, Chivantito. In other cases, I have tried to use the
more commonly accepted spellings or have listed both spellings to
the ongoing debate.
acknowledge
2. This painting belongs to a series in the Chinchero church that de
picts the life of the Virgin. Francisco Chivantito is one of a group of
indigenous artists who created a distinct style known as the Cuzco
school of painting. The indigenous artists working during this time
shared many common practices, such as the use of gold-brocade dec
oration (also called brocateado, it is an application of gold leaf to a
painting, usually to images of finely woven or embroidered clothing)
and the depiction of native birds and fauna. Pauline Antrobus, with
W. Iain Mackay, "Painting, Graphic Arts and Sculpture," in The Dictio
1996), 506-11; Te?filo
nary ofArt, vol. 24 (New York: Macmillan,
Benaventes Velarde, Historia del arte cusque?os del la colonia (Cuzco,
Peru: Municipalidad
del Qosqo,
1995); and Jos? de Mesa and Teresa
Gisbert, Historia de la pintura cuzque?a, 2 vols. (Lima: Fundaci?n Au
1982). Francisco Chivantito was born in Chinchero.
gusto N. Wiese,
See ibid., vol. 1, 174.
3. I am using the term Spanish in the same way I refer to the Andes, to
denote a regional, not a political, category that included most, ifnot
all, of the Iberian Peninsula.
4. Traditionally,
the mountain
the church has claimed that the sculpture was found in
of Montserrat in the ninth century; however, studies
ANDEAN
PAINTING
233
suggest that itwas made about the twelfth century. Josepha de C.
Laplana, ed., Nigra Sum: Iconograf?a de Santa Maria deMontserrat (Bar
celona: Museu de Montserrat, 1995), 240-42. Except when the sculp
ture was hidden for protection or taken forcibly during periods of
conflict, it has always resided on (and is considered to belong to) the
is a
The Virgin of Montserrat
mountain of Montserrat
(239-60).
"black Madonna,"
that is,whose image is depicted with a dark skin
color, and is credited with numerous miracles, most concerning cur
ing the ill and helping captives escape. For a list of her reputed mira
cles, see Tom?s Roca, El librode losMilagros hechos ? invocaci?n deNues
tra Se?ora deMontserrat (San Miguel, Spain: Imprenta de Roca, 1875).
Most of the early miracles attributed to the Virgin of Montserrat were
associated not with the holy image but with the altar. The first time
the statue is associated with miracles is in the fourteenth century.
Laplana, Nigra Sum, 242-46.
saw was not added to her standard iconography until 1672.
Laplana, Nigra Sum, 249.
6. For a discussion of the evolution of the Virgin of Montserrat's
iconog
raphy, see Manuel Tren, Mar?a iconograf?a de la virgen en el arteEspa?ol
Editorial
528-42.
Plus-Ultra, 1947),
(Madrid:
5. The
7. Bern?t Boil accompanied
Christopher Columbus on his second trip
to the New World. For a discussion of the life of Bern?t Boil, see
P. D. F. de P. Crusellas, Nueva historia del santuario y monasterio deNues
tra Se?ora deMontserrat (Barcelona: Tipograf?a Cat?lica, 1896), 218
28. For a discussion of the spread of the cult beyond Montserrat, see
Teresa Marci?, "Expansion of the Cult of the Mother of God of Mont
serrat in the XVIth and XVIIth Centuries," in Laplana, Nigra Sum,
261-66.
8. This belief was reflected in colonial art. For example, in a colonial
painting from Potos? in present-day Bolivia, the Virgin is depicted not
simply in front of a sacred mountain but as a part of it.Teresa Gis
bert, Iconograf?a y mitos ind?genas en el arte (La Paz: Linea Editorial,
Fundaci?n BHN, 1994), 17-22.
9. For an in-depth discussion of the conflicting views regarding sacred
ness and religiosity of indigenous Andeans and European Christians,
see Kenneth Mills, Idolatry and Its Enemies: Colonial Andean Religion and
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997);
Extirpation, 1640-1750
and Sabine MacCormack,
Religion in theAndes: Vision and Imagination
inEarly Colonial Peru (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991).
10. Carolyn S. Dean, "Copied Carts: Spanish Prints and Colonial Peruvian
Paintings," Art Bulletin 78 (1996): 103. For a discussion of the use of
European prints in early Cuzco paintings, see also Jos? de Mesa, "The
Flemish Influence in Andean Art," in America, Bride of theSun: 500
Years Latin America and theLow Countries (Antwerp: Imschoot, 1992),
179-87. For a comprehensive bibliography, see Stella Nair and Peter
Parshall, "European Prints to the New World: An Annotated Bibliog
raphy," MS, 2003, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
11. Following the bishop's orders, local artists copied works from Spain
either in their entirety or in parts. Antrobus and Mackay, "Painting,
Graphic Arts and Sculpture," 507. For a discussion of Bishop Mol
art on Cuzco
linedo and the impact of his collection of European
painting, see Mesa and Gisbert, Historia de la pintura cuzque?a, vol. 1,
118-23.
12. In Spain, artists often used prints as sources of imagery for their
paintings, and this tradition was brought to the New World. See Ed
ward Sullivan, "European Painting and the Art of the New World Col
onies," in Converging Cultures: Art and Identity in Spanish America, ed.
Diana Fane (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996), 32-33. Although the
impact of European prints on Andean art was remarkable, this is not
to suggest thatmost Andean artistic productions were wholesale cop
ies. Rather, mimesis transformed the imagery, reflecting the unique
colonial Andean
situation.
13. For an insightful commentary on the issues of copying inAndean
painting, particularly notions of authenticity, originality, and deriva
tion, see Thomas Cummins, "Let Me See! Reading Is for Them: Colo
nial Andean
'Come es Costumbre Tener los Ca
Images and Objects
inNative Traditions in thePostconquest World, ed.
ciques Se?ores,'"
Elizabeth Hill Boone and Thomas Cummins
(Washington, D.C:
Dumbarton Oaks, 1998), 93-94.
14. See Dean,
"Copied
Carts," 98-110.
15. "The discourse of mimicry is constructed around an ambivalence;
in
order to be effective, mimicry must continually produce its slippage,
its excess, its difference." Homi Bhabha, "Of Mimicry and Man: The
Ambivalence
of Colonial Discourse," October, no. 28 (1984): 126.
16. Jesus Perez-Morera compares Chivantito's Virgin ofMontserrat at Chin
chero with the Virgin ofMontserrat in the Iglesia de Santiago, arguing
that both paintings were copied from an anonymous engraving, Mont
Serr?t, from the seventeenth century. Perez-Morera, "El grabado como
fuente iconogr?fica: El tema de la Virgen de Montserrat en la pintura
flamenca y peruana,"
inHomenaje al ProfesorHernandez Perera (Madrid:
234
ART
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de Madrid, 1992), 399-407. As the Virgin of
Universidad Complutense
Montserrat in the Iglesia de Santiago is undated and unsigned
(which
was typical of the period), there is some disagreement over the iden
tityof the artist. Benavente Velarde, Historia del arte cusque?os, 90-91,
credits Chivantito, basing his argument on a document that gave Chi
vantito land to farm in exchange for a work for Santiago. However,
Mesa
and Gisbert, Historia de la pintura cuzque?a, 173, argue that the
Santiago Virgin ofMontserrat was painted by an unknown artist. Al
though it is possible that the Santiago painting was made by Chivan
tito several decades before the Chinchero one (reflecting an imma
ture style), Mesa and Gisbert contend that this painting was created
by a less-skilled artist than the author of the Montserrat painting in
Chinchero
(175). Most scholars who have examined the paintings be
lieve that theywere done by two distinct artists who had very different
abilities.
17. It is unclear what role the surrounding members played in the Chris
tian faith. As Carolyn Dean has pointed out, the men to the Virgin's
left have their hair cut in tonsure; along with their dress, this points
to an identity as Dominican
friars. It is unclear if the men to the Vir
gin's right, who wear all-black robes, also have their hair cut in this
distinctive fashion. If they did, the men were likelyJesuit priests. If
they did not, then theymay have been secular clergy. It is also possi
ble that some of these men depicted may have been imagined rather
than portraits of actual people. As will be discussed later in this pa
per, the mixing of real and imagined people and objects in Cuzco
painting was typical of the period (Dean, personal communication,
2005).
18. Dean
(ibid.) also suggests that the person next to the bishop may
have shared in the patronage of this painting.
19. Richard L. Kagan, Urban Images of theHispanic World 1493-1793
Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), 3-7.
20. Kagan,
21. Dean,
ibid., 9, calls thismode
"Copied Carts,"
of representation
(New
"communicentric."
101.
inclusion of fictive elements in Andean descriptive painting dur
ing the colonial period is discussed in Carolyn S. Dean, Inca Bodies
and theBody of Christ: Corpus Christi in Colonial Cuzco, Peru (Durham:
Duke University Press, 1999), 84-96; and idem, "Copied Carts."
22. The
23. For example, in Chivantito's painting the church tower is taller and
thinner than the one standing in town today. However, due to seismic
activity, the tower has collapsed numerous times during the last sev
eral centuries. It is likely that the tower was rebuilt shorter and wider
and with thicker walls in an effort tomake itmore stable and prevent
future collapse. Changes over time from earthquake damage can also
be seen in the church buttresses. In the painting, they are much
smaller and in a more balanced proportion with the building than
the current buttresses, which are unusually large for such a small
structure. Surviving evidence of damage to the church's western wall
indicates that the buttresses may have been enlarged over time in or
der to stabilize the structure.
Another difference between the architectural remains and the
comes from new
painting is not related to earthquake damage but
constructions and alterations in the modern period. In the painting,
Andean crosses flank both sides of the arches belonging to the Virgin
of Montserrat. Andean crosses were an important part of the iconog
some of the Ti
raphy of the Tiwanaku culture, and the Inca adopted
wanaku iconography in order to legitimate Inca rule. Photographs
in the twentieth century show that the iconog
from various moments
one point,
raphy of the arches has gone through many changes. At
theywere merely long, rectangular niches; at other times, they are
shown collapsed and in serious disrepair, with no evidence of their
prior form remaining. Given these many changes, it is impossible to
tell what had been the original colonial configuration of the arches'
In the latest construction, completed during the 1970s,
decoration.
Christian equilateral crosses were chosen to fill the gaping holes. The
not
present Christian crosses are therefore a modern element and do
reflect what may have existed in the colonial period.
The problems posed by new constructions can be seen in the part
of town below the lower plaza. This area has been entirely rebuilt in
the last few centuries, thereby eliminating any means of verifying or
disproving Chivantito's version of this portion of town. Chivantito's
a kancha (housing group) and individ
a
painting shows wall enclosing
ual rectangular buildings arrayed around a central courtyard with
open spaces in the corners. He painted separate entrances for each
building and Spanish iconography for the windows and doors (none
of these are trapezoidal, which was typical of the Inca, although some
times they had rectangular niches as well). Chivantito's depiction of
vernacular architecture strongly resembles the few colonial buildings
that exist in town today. Given the accuracy with which Chivantito
at Chinchero,
it is
portrayed the surviving architecture and decoration
likely (though impossible to say conclusively) that the buildings that
once stood before the plaza resembled those shown in Chivantito's
painting.
to allow prioritizing of the scenes de
Space has been condensed
picted. For example, the gable roofs have been compressed so that
the viewer can look over buildings in the foreground and see the
plaza scene. Another instance is the leveling out of the plaza and
church atrium such that they are almost on the same plane. This cre
ated more space in which to depict the actions in the church atrium
scene on the
without having to extend the footprint of the Chinchero
canvas.
24. There appears to be an intriguing change or modification made to
the painting at a later date, though it is unclear when. The two niches
to a single niche some
at the far right seem to have been condensed
time after the painting was completed. The original last niche looks
as if it almost bleeds into the far right corner of the niche wall, sug
gesting that this "mistake" may have been what prompted the change.
However, the new niche is different from the others, of a double
jamb, double-lintel construction, unlike the single^jamb, single-lintel
openings of the other niches. Why was this change made and why was
the opening given a new style?Among the Inca, double jambs and
double lintels had great significance, indicating the most important
spaces, carrying high prestige. The surviving physical evidence makes
it clear that no similar alteration in the original niche wall occurred.
Therefore, this change, by Chivantito (or perhaps even a later simi
larly skilled artist), does not reflect a physical alteration to the town
center but came about for artistic reasons.
25. For a detailed discussion of the history of the niched wall, both impe
rial Inca and colonial Inca, see Stella Nair, "Of Remembrance
and
Forgetting: The Architecture of Chinchero, Peru, from Thupa Tnka
to the Spanish Occupation"
(PhD diss., University of California,
Berkeley, 2003), 173-75, 257-60.
26. This has important implications for Inca architecture studies. There
has been much discussion that numbers, particularly in Inca walls, is
important. A counterargument holds that it is not numbers but rather
proportions thatmatter in Inca architecture. In the Chinchero paint
ing, the proportions seem to have been maintained while the num
bers were lost. Is this a result of a cultural change brought about by
time, influence from Spain, or the idea of the artist? Or might itbe a
reflection of Inca priorities? For a discussion of Inca proportions, see
Jean-Pierre Protzen, Inca Architecture and Construction at Ollantaytambo
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 261-63; Vincent R. Lee,
Design byNumbers: Architectural Order among theIncas (Wilson, Wyo.:
1996), 1-18; and Protzen, "Inca Architec
Sixpac Manco Publications,
ture," in The Inca World, ed. Laura Laurencich Minelli
(Norman: Uni
Press, 1999), 193-218.
versity of Oklahoma
short facade of the church has also been altered slightly.
28. This break came about officially in 1688 but was the culmination of
years of growing discord. Mesa and Gisbert, Historia de la pintura
cuzque?a, vol. 1, 137-38, cite underlying racial tensions as well as di
artists were frus
vergent artistic practices. They argue that European
toWestern
lack of adherence
trated with their indigenous colleagues'
27. The
painting practices.
29. See Thomas Cummins, "Silver Threads and Golden Needles: The
in The Colo
Inca, the Spanish, and the Sacred World of Humanity,"
nial Andes: Tapestries and Silverwork, 1530-1830, ed. Elena Phipps, Jo
hanna Hecht, and Cristina Esteras Mar?n (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 2004), 5-10.
30. Examples would be right and left, high and low, sun and moon, or
man and woman. This concept is fundamental to the Andean under
ayllus, or com
standing of space and relations even today. Chinchero
munity groups, are divided into hanan and hurin, as are most indige
nous highland communities.
31. For a discussion of the relation between Andean plazas and the bi
nary concepts of hanan and hurin, see Thomas Cummins, Toasts with
theInca: Andean Abstraction and Colonial Images on Quero Vessels (Ann
Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002), 300-305.
32. Jean-Pierre Protzen and John Rowe, "Hawkaypata: The Terrace of Lei
sure," in Streets: Critical Perspectives on Public Space, ed. Zeynep ?elik,
Diane Favro, and Richard Ingersoll (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1994), 235-46.
33. For Teresa
"double plaza
Gisbert and Jos? de Mesa, Chinchero's
"
[plaza dobl?] results from the separation of the two central powers,
the church and the state, such that each has its own public space.
The authors discuss this as a phenomenon
of the Spanish colonial
de
period. Arquitectura Andina 1530-1830, vol. 1 (La Paz: Embajada
a division of function in
Espa?a en Bolivia, 1997), 159-60. However,
public space was evident in Inca public spaces before the arrival of
in the Americas.
Europeans
in the imperial, urban, ritual, and
34. For a discussion of itsmanifestation
social landscape of Cuzco, see Cummins, Toasts with theInca, 101-5,
108-16. Hanan as the upper division and hurin as the lower were ex
A COLONIAL
one that was
pressions of their unequal but complementary relations,
an imperial hierarchy.
to
Inca
state
enforce
the
imperial
exploited by
5-10. For an
35. See Cummins, "Silver Threads and Golden Needles,"
example of this in the work of the indigenous artist Felipe Guarnan
Poma de Ayala during the colonial period, see Rolena Adorno, Gua
rnan Poma: Writing and Resistance in Colonial Peru (Austin: University of
"From Looking to
Texas Press, 2000), 89; and Mercedes L?pez-Baralt,
as Artist," in Guarnan Poma
Seeing: The Image as Text and the Author
de Ayala: The Colonial Art of an Andean Author (New York: Americas
notes that in a draw
Society, 1992), 17, 19. In particular, L?pez-Baralt
ing by Guarnan Poma, the literal reading of the image depicts the
Spanish defeating the Andeans, while the spatially symbolic reading
"denounces
the Spaniards" by making them subordinate to the An
deans
(17).
over perspectival space
Ironically, this practice of positional space
would have been familiar to the European artists. Laying out Chris
tian art in positionally valued ways, such as its preference for right
over left of a central sacred figure, was a common practice among
painters at the time.
has studied linguistic understandings of
37. Rosaleen Howard-Malverde
In particular, she has examined the ways that
the past inQuechua.
devices for remembering the past.
buildings are used as mnemonic
The Speaking ofHistory: "Willapaakushayki" or
See Howard-Malverde,
Quechua Ways of Telling thePast (London: Institute of Latin American
Studies, 1990), 73-83. Cummins, "Let Me See! Reading Is for Them,"
141, was the first to note important linkages between Howard
Malverde's
colonial material culture.
study and Quechua
36.
Rostworowski de Diez Canseco, History of theInca Realm, trans.
Harry B. Iceland (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), vii
viii.
38. Maria
the seventeenth century, itwas not unusual to include local
scenes in paintings celebrating Virgins. Images depicting the
scenes.
Virgins of Potos?, Cocharcas, and Bel?n have included local
Dean, "Copied Carts," 101. This scene is either of a priest in a Corpus
Christi procession or a procession honoring a visiting bishop.
50. During
Andean
51. Some were granted the added privilege of riding horseback and carry
ing arms. Karen Spalding, "Kurakas and Commerce: A Chapter in the
Evolution of Andean Society," Hispanic American Historical Review 53,
no. 4 (1973): 583.
52.
(95).
41. Niles,
43. Miguel Cabello Valboa, Miscel?nea Antartica:Una historia del Peru anti
guo (1586; Lima: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, 1951),
357-58.
44. Despite some differences, both the Inca and Spanish used urban
plans as part of their colonizing strategies. Plans used by both regimes
involved central plazas and grid-inspired street arrangements
(though
there are many deviations found in any ideal order). The Spanish
wrote down these practices in a series of decrees known as the Law of
the Indies, which linked architecture, conquest, and evangelizing
practices.
45. This is in sharp contrast to what was going on in Cuzco at the same
time. In the capital city, the damaged architecture of the imperial
Inca period was intentionally turned into ruins to serve as a visual re
minder of Spanish victory. See Carolyn S. Dean, "Creating a Ruin in
and What Was Made of It," Andean
Colonial Cusco: Sacsayhuaman
Past 5 (1998): 161-84. For a comprehensive discussion of the changes
see Nair, "Of Re
in the architectural and urban fabric of Chinchero,
and Forgetting."
membrance
46. This wall may also have served as a tinku. In the Andes, when two
or powerful and are
things come together, they are seen as charged
called a tinku.The space where hanan and hurin come together is a
tinku.Carolyn Dean has suggested that if the atrium and plaza were
understood as hanan and hurin, the wall that divides them may have
been seen as a tinku,and the wall would have carried particular im
2005).
(Dean, personal communication,
portance
47. The small number of surviving written textsmakes it difficult to re
construct the local history of Chinchero. However, scholars such as
Cummins, "Let Me See! Reading Is for Them," 140, 142-43, has
shown that as a nonliterate people, Andean groups, and the Inca in
particular, used material objects to convey meaning and write their
own histories. In the case of Chinchero,
the abundant material cul
ture, such as buildings, ceramics, textiles, and paintings, provides criti
cal clues into the past. Chivantito's painting is particularly important
as it furnishes our only visualization of colonial life at Chinchero, al
lowing us critical insights into both the everyday and the extraordi
nary, as well as stratification and difference. This painting reveals how
distinct groups and individuals mediated and translated the dramatic
upheaval of the colonial period.
235
49. One scholar who has tried to pull the two apart is Carolyn Dean. She
has shown ("Copied Carts," 101) that even scenes such as these,
where much of the narrative describes actual events and people, also
contain important inventions of the artists, ones that go beyond the
an ephemeral event. Dean has ar
problems inherent in representing
gued that in the Cuzco Corpus Christi series, the inclusion of fictive
elements in a largely descriptive scene was done to aggrandize indige
nous performances in the eyes of the indigenous participants and
their communities. For example, idealized images of European pro
cessional carts were inserted in the Corpus Christi painting although
in Cuzco and in fact were never built dur
they never before appeared
carts signi
ing the seventeenth century in Cuzco. These conceptual
fied a locus of processional grandeur that would have resonated with
the indigenous audience. These carts are compelling examples of lo
cal mimicry in which objects from European prints are copied and in
the process are translated into the local indigenous context to convey
new meanings.
40. Cummins, "Let Me See! Reading Is for Them," 140, 142-43. Cum
mins argues that seeing was a critical part of remembering, so that to
see was to remember and to not see was to forget. As Cummins states,
"the tactile and visual word in relation to oral discourse remained for
'inscribed' their existence"
Andeans
the form through which Andeans
The Shape of Inca History, 56.
Ibid., 48. There were several titles of reference given to the Inca
ruler. One of them is Sapa Inka.
PAINTING
48. For an example of a complementary relation between written texts
and paintings (in this case, regarding the Corpus Christi festival), see
Dean, Inka Bodies and theBody ofChrist.
39. Susan A. Niles, The Shape of Inca History (Iowa City: University of Iowa
Press, 1999), 43.
42.
ANDEAN
Ibid., 584. This discussion refers to a kuraka who was also an Inca no
ble, as was probably the case formany of the kurakas in early colonial
Chinchero.
Inca nobles and caciques/kurakas both had special status
and privileges in the colonial period, but there were differences be
tween them. Inca nobles had a status equivalent to hidalgu?a in Spain.
as freedom
They had the legal status and privilege of nobility, such
from taxation, but they did not necessarily have money, land, or vas
sals. Caciques/ kurakas (who might or might not be Inca) were the
a
equivalent to titled lords (called se?ores de vassallos), who formed
small minority of hidalgos in Spain. They held land (in mayorazgo) and
often had judicial authority over their tenants (JeremyMumford, per
sonal communication,
2006).
53. The Spanish brought thisword from the Caribbean and used it to
refer to all indigenous leaders. As we do not know for sure whether
the leader depicted in Chivantito's painting had a hereditary or ap
as a cacique. During the colo
pointed position, I shall refer to him
nial period, the ranks of caciques became gradated over time. For a
concise discussion, see David Cahill, "Curas and Social Conflict in the
Doctrinas of Cuzco, 1780-1814," fournal ofLatin American Studies 16,
no. 2 (1984): 256-57. Cummins, "Let Me See! Reading Is for Them,"
109, has noted that the conflation of cacique and kuraka by the Span
ish has a parallel with the Spanish conflation of duho (a Caribe word)
and tiana (a Quechua
word) to refer to the ceremonial seat of the
revealing that "Spanish recognition and understand
cacique/kuraka,
ing of Andean political symbols and positions were not intended to
be specific in terms of Andean meaning but universal in relation to
a body of native elites."
setting up a colonial system of rule through
54. Spalding,
55.
"Kurakas and Commerce,"
594.
Ibid., 585.
56. As there were many descendants of the imperial Inca ruler Thupa
it is likely that the local leader was from this
'Inka in Chinchero,
from Thupa Tnka's son Qhapaq Wari,
group. Most were descended
from his other son
though others appear to have been descended
Another elite group may have
(and successor) Wayna Qhapaq.
emerged from the Ayamarka community. The town and previous im
soon after one
perial Inca estate was built in the Ayamarka homeland,
of the last revolts by the Ayamarka was crushed. The Ayamarka were
then granted citizenship through "Inca by privilege" as the empire
expanded. During the Spanish invasion and occupation of the Andes,
many Ayamarka elites are known to have moved to Cuzco, while oth
ers, perhaps of less prestigious ancestry, stayed in Chinchero.
57.
In many instances when this inscription has been noted, the name
Amau is described as a shortening or misspelling of Amaru, a Que
chua surname meaning
"serpent," well known to scholars. However,
there is no evidence of the name being altered on the canvas, and
the name changing seems to be based only on scholarly supposition
rather than evidence. Susan Niles (personal communication,
2005)
was the first to point out tome thatAmau
(also spelled Amao) was
in the painting. Amau was
likely the original name of the majordomo
a typical surname at that time in the region. It can be found in docu
ments relating to Chinchero, as well as the adjacent Yucay and Uru
bamba areas. For example, in 1550, one Bernab? Amao is listed as a
236
ART BULLETIN
JUNE
2007 VOLUME
LXXXIX
NUMBER
2
Unku:
Chinchero
resident. Horacio Villanueva Unteaga,
"Documentos
sobre
en el Siglo XVI," Revista del Archivo Hist?rico del Cuzco 13 (1970):
Strategy and Design in Colonial Peru," Cleveland Studies in the
ofArt 7 (2002): 69-103.
most important elements of an Inca man's clothing were his
and orna
length sleeveless tunic, a plain mantle, headband
A. Rowe, "Inca Weaving and Costume," 24. The clothing re
status and ethnic identity. The headgear defined ethnic or
regional origin, separating Inca by birth versus Inca by privilege. The
headband, a braided wool band, was called a llawfu. Ibid., 27. A sev
enteenth-century dictionary (attributed by different scholars to several
different authors) defines Llautu as "a large sash, thatmakes many
turns, that theywear in Cuzco on their head, for which each nation is
different, for that which theywear on their head [un ?ngulo largo, que
dan muchas bueltas, que se ponen los del Cuzco en la cabe?a y cada naci?n se
diferencia,por lo que trae en la cabecea].'" Arte y vocabulario en la lengua
(Seville: Cle
general del Peru, llamada Quichua, y en la lengua Espa?ola
mente Hidalgo,
1603), leaf Ff2v. The color of the band indicated
prestige. A. Rowe, "Inca Weaving and Costume," 28. Tied over the
llawt'u was a metal plaque worn on the forehead called a ca?ipu. This
may have revealed the elite's ayllu distinction, indicating if they be
that we
longed to the hanan or hurin group (although Rowe mentions
lack archaeological
evidence for this). Thupa Tnka's ayllu was hanan.
Ibid., 29. Arte y vocabulario, leaf BBlr, defines a ca?ipu as "a paten that
one puts in the front [patena que se pone en lafrense]" Inca men also
wore earplugs, called paku. These large cylindrical ornaments indicat
ing prestige were so striking that a noble who wore them was called a
as well,
pakuyoq (earplug man). The Spanish translated this reference
referring to this elite status male as an orej?n (big ear). A. Rowe, "Inca
Weaving and Costume," 29. Other jewelry, such as a chipana (a wide
gold or silver bracelet), was worn on the forearm. Ibid., 30.
Yucay
79.
History
The
"knee
ments."
flected
58. The use of staffs indicates that these men are either Varayoqs, leaders
of the different ayllus in Chinchero, or representatives of the confra
ternities that sponsored the Corpus Christi procession. This latter,
and more likely, alternative was first suggested tome by Susan Web
ster (personal communication,
2001).
59. For a brief description
583.
Commerce,"
60.
of the kuraka, see Spalding,
"Kurakas and
Ibid., 591-92.
61. Steve J. Stern has shown that the Spanish allowed the kuraka more
autonomy as a way to save money instead of hiring an overseer in
the indige
many "reduced" towns (in which the Spanish consolidated
nous populations of many villages). Stern, Peru's Indian Peoples and the
to 1640 (Madison: Univer
Challenge of theSpanish Conquest: Huamanga
could
sity ofWisconsin Press, 1993), 76. In larger towns, a majordomo
carry out the administration of the church for the cacique. The im
portance of the indigenous community leaders can be seen in a draw
ing by the indigenous historian Felipe Guarnan Poma de Ayala, who
holding the key to the church as a
depicts an Andean majordomo
symbol of his authority. Guarnan Poma de Ayala, Nueva cor?nica y buen
gobierno, trans. Jan Szeminski, vol. 2 (Lima: Fondo de Cultura Eco
n?mica, 1993), 658, fig. 806. The drawing is captioned at the top,
"Mayordomo: del administrador y de la iglesia y de cofrad?as, hospital,
indio pobre triuba
y de otros bienes de comunidad, y sapsi?suyoyoc,
warden: of the administrator and of the
trio" (Majordomo/church
church and of the confraternities, hospital, and of other benefits of
the community, and communal?suoyoc
[native leader], poor tributary
Indian). Below the drawing Guarnan Poma wrote "en este reyno" (in
In the accompanying
this kingdom) and "majordomos"
(majordomo).
text Guarnan Poma wrote that these indigenous men were leaders of
many aspects of early colonial organizations, such as "Majordomos of
the church and of the confraternities and of the hospitals and of the
administrators [Majordomos de la iglesia y de cofradesy de hospitals y de los
administradores}." Guarnan Poma, 660, states that these men were hon
est, hard workers who toiled "for the service of God and your Majesty
[para el servicio de Dios y de suMajestad]."
62. Stern, Peru's Indian Peoples, 192-93.
63. It is possible to see under the pigment that the second name also be
gins with MD, indicating that thisman, like Pascual Amau, also held
This image of twomajordomos may suggest that
the titlemajordomo.
they are hanan and hurin caciques. For a discussion of dual caciques,
see Cummins, Toasts with theInca, 300. If this is the case, Amau would
be from the Cuper ayllu, or the hanan ayllu, while the erased major
domo would be from the Ayllupongo, or the hurin ayllu.
crudeness of the brushstrokes and the disparity in pigment sug
gest that sometime after the completion of the painting, someone
name in haste.
painted over the original
65. John V. Murra, "Cloth and Its Function in the Inca State," American
Anthropologist 64, no. 4 (1962): 710-28.
64. The
66. For an excellent discussion of Inca dress in both the imperial Inca
and colonial periods, see Elena Phipps, "Garments and Identity in the
Colonial Andes," in Phipps et al., The Colonial Andes, 17-39. In partic
textiles
ular, Phipps discusses the complexity and meaning of Andean
and the various strategies, legal and otherwise, on the part of the
Spanish to control indigenous clothing.
67. The Spanish began legislating indigenous dress, in particular setting
rules over indigenous versus European
elements, in 1575. New laws
in the early nineteenth
continued to be enacted until independence
century. For a discussion of the changing Spanish laws in regard to
indigenous clothing, see Phipps, "Garments and Identity in the Colo
nial Andes," 27.
68. Bhabha, "Of Mimicry and Man," 126.
69. The cacique wears a Spanish coat. The noble to his leftwears a simi
lar outfit, with the exception of the coat. This noble has on an Inca
mantle called a yaqolla (also spelled yacolla). Made of two pieces that
were sewn together, itwas worn loosely or, as shown here, tied to
Cos
gether over the left shoulder (26). A. Rowe, "Inca Weaving and
tume," TextileMuseum Journal 34-35 (1997): 26; and Phipps, "Gar
ments and Identity in the Colonial Andes," 20.
term for the Inca shirt (also spelled uncu). The
is the Quechua
Spanish referred to it as a camiseta. Phipps, "Garments and Identity in
the Colonial Andes," 19-20. For a discussion of the Inca male tunics
in the imperial Inca and colonial periods, see also John H. Rowe,
in Inca Tapestry Tunics," in The Junius B. Bird Pre
"Standardization
Columbian Textile Conference, ed. Ann Pollard Rowe, Elizabeth P. Ben
Schaffer (Washington, D.C.: Textile Museum
son, and Anne-Louise
and Dumbarton Oaks, 1979), 239-64; and Joanne Pillsbury, "Inka
70. This
the design of the edge bindings is not clear, what is visible
71. Although
resembles the traditional edge binding that characterizes some south
ern Andean
textiles. Edge bindings are not common in the Andes,
but can be found in several communities in the southern Andes.
Chinchero's
edge binding iswoven, not sewn, into the edges of the
cloth. It is a distinctive round weave with a diamond motif that is
found in only a handful of communities. This tradition continues to
day in all large, modern weavings.
in The Civilizations
72. John H. Rowe, "Colonial Portraits of Inca Nobles,"
ofAncient Am?rica: SelectedPapers of theXXIX International Congress of
Americanists, ed. Sol Tax (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951),
258-68. The representation of Inca elites in colonial imagery and the
importance of clothing has since been studied by a variety of other
in Early Co
scholars. See Rolena Adorno, "Images of Indios Ladinos
lonial Per?," 232-70, Thomas Cummins, "We Are the Other: Peruvian
Portraits of Colonial Kurakakuna,"
203-31, R. Tom Zuidema, "Gua
rnan Poma and the Art of Empire: Toward an Iconography of Inca
Royal Dress," 151-202, in Transatlantic Encounters: Europeans and An
deans in theSixteenth Century, ed. Kenneth J. Andrien and Adorno
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991); Gustavo Buntinx and
en la pintura colo
Luis Eduardo Wuffarden, "Inca y reyes espa?oles
inMargenes (Lima: Margenes,
nial peruana: La estela de Garcilaso,"
1991), 151-210; Teresa Gisbert, Iconograf?a y mitos ind?genas en el arte
195, 1980), 117-46; and Phipps, "Garments and
(La Paz: Apartado
stresses that
Identity in the Colonial Andes," 16-39. Rolena Adorno
even elite indigenous people who used a lot of Spanish clothing al
their ethnic
ways included visible indigenous elements, proclaiming
and the Typology of Cul
identity.Adorno, "On Pictorial Language
ture in a New World Chronicle," Semi?tica 36, nos. 1-2 (1981): 63.
Andean elites were aware of the power of paintings in conveying mes
sages of authority through the depiction of clothing and related imag
ery. During the colonial period, elites often commissioned paintings
that were carefully crafted to send messages of power, including both
Spanish and Inca iconography. Dean, "Copied Carts," 105.
73. Note that he, like the cacique, has a Spanish-style hat in his hands.
see David
74. For a discussion of the Ayamarkas
(also spelled Ayarmacas),
in the City of
Cahill, "The Virgin and the Inca: An Incaic Procession
Cuzco in 1692," Ethnohistory 49, no. 3 (2002): 611-49; and Maria Rost
in Ensayos de historia
"Los Ayarmaca,"
worowski de Diez Canseco,
andina: Elites, etn?as (Lima: IEP, 1993), 241-90.
75.
Inca nobles, primarily of the Ayllupongo, walked a precarious line
as well as caretakers of the
functioning as enablers of Spanish power
memory of the Inca past. The majority of the Cuper ayllu were la
beled commoners, as were the Yanacona, who were most likely the
descendants of imperial Inca servants. The listing of most Cuper
inmodern Chinchero,
members as commoners is interesting, because
the Cuper ayllu is considered to be the hanan (or upper) ayllu, while
the Ayllupongo
is understood as the hurin ayllu, suggesting that the
or is somehow the "lower" pair of the two
Ayllupongo came in later
"Chinchero Plant Categories: An An
ayllus. Christine Franquemont,
dean Logic of Observation"
(PhD diss., Cornell University, 1988), 22
as elite servants to the Inca nobles
23. The status of the Yanacona
A COLONIAL
added another dimension to the unusual
the colonial town of Chinchero.
tunic bears prominent European designs.
77. In contrast, the cacique's
78. The Andean
sandals were the same for both men and women. They
were called 'usut'a and were of un tanned leather from camelids and
had wool ties. Vibrant, multiple colors and elaborate designs were
as the
used for high-status people, while lower-status people?such
leftwith simple outfits made from a limited variety
musicians?were
of natural hues. Sandals could be made of other materials, such as
79.
plant fiber. A. Rowe, "Inca Weaving and Costume," 31.
It is possible that a surviving colonial building located adjacent to the
church may have been a home for the escolania. Next to the church
of Nuestra Se?ora de Montserrat
is an enclosed kancha, with a build
a few years
ing called la escuela (before the building was abandoned
ago, the structure served as a school). The main building, which rests
on a tall, finely made imperial Inca terrace, has greatly deteriorated,
with a partially collapsed roof. It is connected to a series of rooms
that were constructed at a later period. Gisbert and Mesa, Arquitectura
Andina, 192, argue that the main building in this group was the Ca
pilla de los Indios (Chapel of the Indians). They contend that the
church of Nuestra Se?ora de Montserrat was built for the Spanish
residents in town, and the smaller capilla was created for the indige
nous population. However, considering that the town of Chinchero
this in
apparently never had much, if any, of a Spanish population,
terpretation is unlikely. The main building's close proximity to the
church suggests that itmay have had a religious use. The wall separat
a later date. The main
ing the two areas may have been added at
building is a well-built rectangular structure, with a gable roof that
curves at the north end to form a domelike space. This area leads to
a balcony that looks over the church atrium. Two doors open on the
east side. Windows are in the east and west walls (none of which is
trapezoidal), and there is no evidence of niches. The roof beams are
nicely cut, and the walls are exceptionally thick. It is also possible that
the building served other functions, for example, as a hospital that
was recommended
to be built by the Law of the Indies. Yet the
domed area and the adjacent balcony overlooking the church atrium
suggest that this structure likely served a religious purpose, as an es
colania or as a place to instruct all residents in Catholic teaching.
Without further evidence, the use of this building is left ambiguous.
80. See Niles, The Shape of Inca History, 43. A panaqa is a royal lineage
group, sometimes referred to as similar to a clan or moity. Each
panaqa claims descent from a specific ruler.
81. Carolyn Dean discusses the haylli, its importance in Inca life, and
Spanish attempts to co-opt it, recounting how in one instance the
choirmaster tried to commission a haylli for Corpus Christi to be sung
by Andean boys. Dean, "The Ambivalent Triumph: Corpus Christi in
Colonial Cusco, Peru," in Acting on thePast: Historical Performance across
theDisciplines, ed. Mark Franko and Annette Richards (Hanover,
Mass.: Wesleyan University Press, 2000), 164. Cummins, "Silver
Threads and Golden Needles,"
13, discusses another incident in
in the plaza and sang traditional songs of
which Inca elites paraded
Inca triumphs in homage to the Jesuits.
82.
I thank one of the anonymous reviewers for The Art Bulletin for sug
in the painting.
gesting this reading of the musicians' placement
83. A. Rowe, "Inca Weaving and Costume," 12. The aqsu (also spelled
acsu) was also called anacu. Phipps, "Garments and Identity in the Co
lonial Andes," 21-22.
84. A. Rowe, "Inca Weaving and Costume," 11. The pins that held the
dress were similar in design to those that held the shawl. The head of
the pin was a disk, which had a hole through which a cord could be
secured. The pins were usually of silver, copper, or gold, and the
edges were so sharp they could be used as a knife. The pins for the
dress were called tupu and the pin for the shawl was called t'ipki (22).
85.
Ibid., 23.
86. This may be a myth circulated by the Spanish. Inca women's dresses
were indeed wrapped around their bodies, but, as Ann Rowe suggests
(ibid.), the cloths of some communities were so large that they
wrapped farmore than a full circle around the woman, making the
chance of skin showing impossible. The Spanish may have created
this story once they learned that the Inca dresses were not sewn (and
thus not secured) but simply wrapped around the women's bodies.
in areas where textiles were smaller, it is possible that a
However,
woman's
leg may have been revealed occasionally.
87. Susan Niles
(personal
communication,
2001) was
the first to notice
PAINTING
237
that the women in the Chinchero painting may have Spanish-style
their Inca dresses. Spanish clothing styleswere
skirts underneath
in the
forcefully imposed on women during the reforms of Toledo
1570s, which stated that the indigenous dress had to be sewn up. A
slip or petticoat was also introduced. Phipps, "Garments and Identity
in the Colonial Andes," 30.
intergroup dynamics within
76. For a discussion of the creation of a shared notion of being Indian
and adopting Inca as a symbol of indigenous opposition to Spanish
rule and culture, see Irene Silverblatt, "Becoming Indian in the Cen
tralAndes of Seventeenth Century Peru," in After Colonialism: Imperial
Histories and Postcolonial Displacements, ed. Gyan Prakash (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1995), 279-98.
ANDEAN
88.
In imperial Inca times, head coverings were among
tant signifiers, not only of ethnicity and gender but
the imperial Inca elite, head coverings were highly
called
lated. Inca women typically wore a headband
the most impor
also of status. For
stylized and regu
a wincha. A.
Rowe, "Inca Weaving and Costume," 24.
89. The ?a?aqa was folded inward several times; it covered the top of the
head and hung down the back. Even infant girls wore a head cover
ing (a cap). The term p'ampakuna was also used to describe the head
cloth. Ibid., 24. The women in the Chinchero painting have most of
their hair covered. For a discussion of the various ways in which Inca
women wore their hair, see ibid.
90. During the Spanish occupation,
the imperial Inca head coverings
quickly fell out of favor.While colonial paintings depicting historical
figures from the imperial Inca period are shown with traditional head
coverings, contemporary elite indigenous women, even those depicted
in Inca dress, are usually shown with no head covering. This trend
can be seen in the Chinchero painting, where two of the elite women
in the town scene have their heads uncovered
(though slightly cov
ered up by the high neck of their shawl, or lliklla). However, the two
women standing closest to the cacique have their heads covered?and
in a most interesting manner. The women's proximity to the cacique
and the fact that they carry staffs suggest their high status. The two
women wear either a very wide wincha or a tightlyfitting cap. Over
this colorful head piece, a long black veil covers the backs of their
heads and runs down their backs. This headdress likely derives from
the imperial Inca elite headdress, but it has been modified by contact
with Spanish material culture. The long black veil is not folded in the
traditional indigenous manner but drapes across the head, in a style
typical of nuns.
to elite
What ismost interesting is that elite women?as
opposed
men?are
shown marked by a reference to an imperial Inca head
dress. When
this painting was made, itwas typical for elite men to
compete to wear the royal mascaypacha during the Corpus Christi cele
bration. Those wearing the royal imperial Inca fringe claimed the
it is not the men
highest imperial Inca authority. Yet at Chinchero,
but the women whose head covering references their royal Inca sta
tus, albeit a Spanish-inflected version. The articulation of the wom
en's headdress, like the majority of their clothing, celebrates their
all things
imperial Inca ethnicity while rejecting or marginalizing
Spanish.
91. A. Rowe,
"Inca Weaving and Costume," 16.
textiles focusing on modern practices,
92. For a discussion of Chinchero
see Christine Franquemont,
"Chinchero Pallays: An Ethnic Code," in
Thefunius B. Bird Conference on Andean Textiles, ed. Anne Rowe (Wash
1986), 331-38; and Christine Franque
ington, D.C: Textile Museum,
mont and Edward Franquemont,
in Chinchero,"
"Learning toWeave
TextileMuseum 26 (1986): 54-79.
93. Phipps, "Garments and Identity in the Colonial Andes," 21.
94. I thank Ann Rowe for pointing out tome the importance of this ele
ment (personal communication,
2001).
95. Today, this type of narrow-mouthed
Inca ceramic jar is referred to by
its European name aryballos (from the Greek) or aribola (in Spanish).
96. For a discussion of the status of Andean women in the colonial pe
riod, particularly their abuse by the European
invaders, see Irene Sil
verblatt, Moon, Sun and Witches: Gender Ideologist and Class in Inca and
Colonial Peru (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987). For a dis
cussion of sexuality and marriage among indigenous people in the
Cuzco area during the colonial period, with their complexities and
ambiguities, see Ward Stavig, "Living in Offense of Our Lord: Indige
nous Sexual Values and Marital Life in the Colonial Crucible," inHis
panic American History Review 75, no. 4 (1995): 597-622.
97. Cummins, "Let Me See! Reading Is for Them," 100, was the first to
discuss how this important concept relates to colonial visual culture.
Diego Gonzalez Holguin defines yachacuchcani yachacufcamcani as "to
make yourself, or be accustomed and to have a longing, and to feel
comfortable in a place or with a person [hazerse, o habitaurse, y tener
querencia, y hallarse bien en lugar, o persona].'''' Yachapu is "he who knows
everything, or of all things [el que lo sabe todo, o de todas cosas]," and
yachacuchini means "to do what they have learned, or what they know
[hazer que aprendan, o que sepan]." Gonzalez Holguin, Vocabulario de la
lengua general de todo elPeril llamada lengua Qgichua o del Inca (Ciudad
de los Reyes, Peru: Francisco del Canto, 1608), bk. 1, 362, leaf Ylv.
Arte y vocabulario, leaf Kk6r, does not define the word yachacuscamcani,
but yachani is defined as "to know, to understand, to dwell, to live, to
238
ART
BULLETIN
2007 VOLUME
JUNE
LXXXIX
NUMBER
2
to a thing [saber, en
have a longing for a place, to be accustomed
tender,morar, abitar, tenerquerencia en alg?n lugar, estar habituado a al
guna cosa]." Yachacuni is defined as "to learn [aprender]" and
yachacuchini as "to do what you have learned, or do what is natural for
you to do [hazer que aprenda, o que seafa'ct?ble de hazer]." Yachachini is
defined as "to teach, to influence, tomake someone accustomed or to
impose on someone [ense?ar, instruyr,acostumbrar y, imponera otro],"
yachachinacuni as "to get one person in agreement with another, to
teach oneself [concertarse el uno con el otro, o ense?arse]," and yachachi
cuni as "to teach someone your custom, to prepare them, or to teach
oneself for a specific reason [ense?ar a alguno que sea cosa propria, y
aprestar, o ensayarse para alguna cosa]." Yachac yachapu is defined as
"knowledge [sabio]."
98.
In the colonial period, itwas common for indigenous Andean women
to continue to wear indigenous clothing at all times. However, indige
nous Andean males tended to adopt Spanish-inspired clothing for
daily wear and traditional indigenous clothing for special occasions
and festivals. See Carolyn Dean, "The Renewal of Old World Images
and the Creation of Colonial Peruvian Visual Culture," in Fane, Con
verging Cultures, 182.
99. Juan de Quiroz, Archivo Departmental
del Cuzco, Protocolo
13, 1579,
fols. 120r-123r; and Antonio Sanchez, Archivo Arzobispal del Cuzco,
Protoloco 25, 1583, fols. 422v-423v.
100. For insightful discussions of Corpus Christi in Cuzco?its
iconogra
phy, painting tradition, and relations to issues of ethnicity, authority,
and transculturation?see
David Cahill, "The Virgin and the Inca";
and publications by Carolyn S. Dean, such as "Painted Images of Cuz
co's Corpus Christi: Social Conflict and Cultural Strategy inViceregal
Per?" (PhD diss., University of California, Los Angeles, 1990); "Ethnic
Conflict and Corpus Christi in Colonial Cuzco," Colonial Latin Ameri
can Review 2 (1993): 93-120; "Who's Naughty and Nice: Childish Be
havior in the Paintings of Cuzco's Corpus Christi Procession," Ph0e
bus?a Journal ofArtHistory 7 (1995): 107-26; Inca Bodies and theBody
of Christ, and "The Ambivalent Triumph," 159-76.
101. A. Rowe, personal
communication,
2001.
it is possible that at one point the Inca walls were covered up
by plaster and not exposed as they are today, the structural elements
have been altered as well. Instead of illustrating the short facade of
the Inca-style entrance jutting a foot in front of the rest of the colo
nial church and emphasizing
its difference, in the Chivantito image
the Inca wall is covered and depicted as if it is flush with the rest of
the facade. In addition, the prominent Inca-style post-and-lintel door
arched entrance.
way has been transformed into a Europeanized
102. While
and Forgetting."
earlier, a lone women stands to one side, watching the
man in indigenous and Spanish
procession. Nearby, a light-skinned
clothing runs after a young indigenous boy with a whip.
105. It is important to note that in the Andes, there is a long tradition of
depicting important figures with two of the same hands. An example
is seen in the sculpture of Tiwanaku, one of the most important cen
ters of Andean artistic production.
Interestingly, the figures with two
hands, notably, the famous Bennett and Ponce Monoliths, as well as
early works such as Stelae 15, are all depicted with two lefthands. Un
fortunately, there has been no study on the depiction of handedness
inAndean art thatmay give us some insight into itsmeaning across
its existence as an Andean
tradition sug
time and space. However,
103. See Nair,
"Of Remembrance
104. As mentioned
gests that the two right hands
have had an Andean meaning
represented in Chivantito's figure may
that we are, at the moment, unable to
grasp.
106. There
chero
is no existing series of chapels leading to the town of Chin
that indicates a pilgrimage route once existed.
107. A. Rowe,
"Inca Weaving
and Costume,"
30.
108. Ibid.
is based on a prejudicial view that "primitive" Indians would nat
there
urally adapt tomore "advanced" European practices. Hence,
was little reason to assume Europeans would borrow elements of an
"inferior" culture. As these modes have begun to collapse, research
into European
transculturation has begun to expand.
109. This
110. For an excellent discussion of the highly politicized ways that cultural
elements are interpreted, labeled, and discussed in cultural encoun
ters, see Carolyn Dean and Dana Leibsohn,
"Hybridity and Its Discon
tents: Considering Visual Culture in Colonial Spanish America," Colo
nial Latin American Review 12, no. 1 (2003): 6-35.
111. For another example of Spanish clothing being naturalized as Inca,
see Cahill, "The Virgin and the Inca," 613.
112. Dean, personal communication,
2006. There was much shifting and
labeling of people of mixed ancestry in the Andes, changes that not
only occurred across time and place but also shifted from group to
group. One striking example can be seen in the writings and drawings
of Guarnan Poma, whose dislike of "mestizos" is overt. Other groups
in the Andes often viewed suspiciously people of mixed ancestry. Try
ing to pin down these shifting and often elusive ethnic and cultural
statuses in the colonial period is very difficult. David Cahill has dis
cussed the difficulty in categorizing these colonial groups today. See
in the Vice
Cahill, "Colour by Numbers: Racial and Ethnic Categories
no. 2
royalty of Peru, 1532-1824," fournal ofLatin American Studies 26,
(1994): 341-46.
to the ornithologist Jos? Alvarez, this bird does not illus
113. According
trate an actual species (personal communication).
Thus, it is not to
be confused with the Curiquenque, a bird depicted in some colonial
Cuzco paintings that was associated with Inca royalty. Intriguingly, this
mythical bird can be found in other contemporary paintings in the
Cuzco area, suggesting that this was not a singular representation but
had a longer visual history and perhaps meaning.
114. This building is likely a representation of the colonial church that
exists to the southeast of Chinchero
today. It is built next to and
ar
slightly under a large rock outcrop that was venerated before the
rival of Europeans. Today the colonial church belongs to a group of
and houses the local image of
Chinchero residents (the Ayllupongo)
a saint whose veneration is drawn from indigenous
Se?or de Huanca,
religious traditions.
115. When
stucco, clay, or another type of outer layer used to protect
an adobe structure is not renewed on a regular basis, the adobe
to the elements.
from exposure
bricks will begin to deteriorate
Rain in particular seeps into the bricks, causing the moistened
adobe to deform or melt, as it slowly disintegrates. This is referred
to as an adobe melt.
116.
In terms of material culture, Thomas Cummins has raised an impor
tant point: that sacredness for Andeans was embedded
in an object's
material rather than in just its form, which made the destruction of
Andean
sacred objects and places more difficult for the Spanish.
Cummins, "A Tale of Two Cities: Cuzco, Lima, and the Construction
in Fane, Converging Cultures, 161-62.
of Colonial Representation,"
destruc
117. While Christianity could be used as a symbol of the European
tion of indigenous non-Christians, such as in the iconography of San
(Saint James who kills Indians), Christian iconogra
tiago Mataindios
phy and teachings could also be used against the Spanish. An
is Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which was adopted as the
example
patron saint of the Tupac Amaru II rebellion in 1781. Patricia Sarro,
"Our Lady of Mount Carmel," in Fane, Converging Cultures, 231.
118. Perhaps as further scholarship on the colonial Andes is conducted,
will realize many more examples of an Andean
landscape painting
tradition in the colonial period.
119. Sullivan, "European
nies," 31, 32.
Painting and the Art of the New World
we
Colo
120. Francisco Stastny, "The Cuzco School of Painting," Connoisseur, May
resem
as landscapes
1975, 23-24. These
landscapes are fictitious,
bling Flemish ones did not exist in the Andes of South America
(24-26).
121. As Teresa Gisbert states, "The aesthetic break with Europe seems to
be total. The Cuzco painters created a school that differs not only
from Spanish and European
traditions, but also from the schools of
Mexico, Lima, and even Potosi." Gisbert, "Andean Painting," in Gloria
inExcelsis: The Virgin and Angels in Viceregal Paintings ofPeru and Bolivia
1986), 27.
(New York: Center for American Research,
122. Chivantito's depiction of a local sacred landscape in a Christian scene
is very different from the work of his contemporaries. Most Andean
artists made their landscapes resemble Flemish ones or painted them
as lush lowland scenes. The latter was favored among highland peo
a type of paradise. Leopoldo
Castedo,
ple, who saw the lush jungle as
The Cuzco Circle (New York: Center for Inter-American Relations,
1976), 52. Another Cuzco-area artist created an image of a local land
scape in the decades after Chivantito's Virgin ofMontserrat. Friar Fran
cisco de Salamanco, a self-taught artist who grew up in Oruro
a
hermit who painted the in
(present-day Bolivia), was Mercedarian
side of the monastery of La Merced with murals that incorporated
that are
local urban elements, such as a bridge, along with mountains
based on those near Oruro
(27-32).