The Virgin of the Andes: Art and Ritual in Colonial Cuzco

Following the Spanish conquest of the Inka empire in 1532,the native people were obliged to recognize the king of Spain as their ruler and to accept the teachings of the Christian faith. In this illuminating study, author Carol Damina reveals how the artists of post-conquest Cuzco combined European styles of painting and iconography with anciet Peruvian traditions to forge an original Andean Colonial goddess-the Virgin of the Andes.

By the early years of the 17th century,the native artists of Cuzco established their own school, the first indigenous organization of artists in the New World. While most studies of the school of Cuzco are written from the European perspective, Prof. Damian uses records and contracts located in Peruvian archives to investigate the meanings of the Virgin of the Andes to the native people of Cuzco.

The rich spendor of Cuzco paintings, characterized by lavish gold ornamentation and elegantly painted jewels and feathers, is bautifully illustrated on over 40 color plates.