Colonial Baroque altarpiece Virgin of the Candelaria, XVIII century, Cuzco (Peru)
Splendid Colonial Baroque altarpiece representing the Virgin of Candelaria, made in the XVIII century in Cuzco (Peru). This magnificent piece has two different parts of extraordinary quality. The first one is a painting where the Marian iconography is represented, developed in a profuse way in the Peruvian Colonial Art. The second element is the altarpiece itself, an architectural structure that has different carved images, which, after the iconographic analysis of the same, it is deduced that this piece is a private commission because of its originality.
Painting of the Virgin of the Candelaria
In this oil on canvas, later attached to a panel, the Virgin of Candelaria appears between two baroque red curtains. In the Viceroyalty of Peru, the iconography of the Virgin of the Rosary is the one that acquires more strength since the 16th century, since her miracles and blessings unite the areas administered from the Castilian Crown. Soon, it branches out to become the Virgin of the Candelaria, for which she is presented, in the same way, as the mother of her son whom she carries in her arms, and with a rosary.
The Virgin is presented hieratic in a unique foreground, a syncretic perspective typical of the Andean zone. Other iconographic elements are the presence of the moon at her feet, which responds to a tradition from the 15th century for the configuration of the Immaculate Conception, and that here is added as a celestial body in the figure of the invocation of the Candelaria. She wears a campaniform mantle, long and embroidered, which denotes her dignity as Queen. The truncated cone shape corresponds in its origin to the frame images, and in the South Andean iconography, to the identification between Mary and the Pachamama. In addition, it carries the imperial crown, an important element in the social culture of Cuzco, where the ornament was a distinctive linked to the social power of the ruling classes. It is important to bear in mind that the Baroque had created Marian prototypes of extraordinary realism and beauty in the European countries of the South - mainly Italy and Spain. However, in the workshops of the mestizo and indigenous artists who burst into the pictorial and sculptural production of the Peruvian Viceroyalty since the late seventeenth century, literally flooding the market, Mary is stamped with the seal of a different aesthetic from the European one. It is a different beauty, with more indigenous features, such as slanted eyes or dark complexion.
Altarpiece
The other part that makes up this piece is the architectural structure itself, designed to enhance and support the painting. It has a central tympanum where a scene is represented framed by ironwork reminiscent of the Renaissance. The scene shows the Virgin with her son embracing a Franciscan, as evidenced by his habit tightened at the waist with an austere rope. Thanks to the presence of this religious it can be deduced that this piece is a private commission, probably destined for a private chapel or a Franciscan convent. Above, there is a break of glory starring God the Father who blesses the whole composition. Finally, it is worth noting the impressive Solomonic columns, with helicoidal shafts, adorned with guirlandas and very fleshy vegetal motifs. These ornaments are present throughout the structure, they are of the purest baroque style. The technique used in the conception of this piece is exceptional, the different elements have been devastated to achieve, in some of them, a round bulk almost exempt. Subsequently it has been gilded with fine water gold and burnished with agate stone.
Overall dimensions: 173 x 127 x 17 cm.
Dimensions of the painting: 66 x 84 cm.
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