March Auction
Lot 389:
Cuzco School (Peru), Virgin and Child, Tempera on Canvas
Description
Colonial Andean devotional painting depicting the crowned Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven holding the Christ Child, both rendered frontally and richly ornamented. Executed in tempera on canvas with extensive decorative gilding, the composition reflects the distinctive visual language of the Cuzco School, blending Spanish Catholic iconography with Indigenous Andean aesthetics.
Details
Artist: Unattributed
School: Cuzco School (Escuela Cuzquena), Peru
Date: style of the late 18th century
Medium: Tempera and pigment on canvas
Dimensions: 62 × 46 cm
Support: Canvas on wooden strainer
Condition:
Extensive surface wear, abrasion, pigment losses, and craquelure consistent with age; edge wear and losses visible. Structurally stable. No evidence of recent restoration.
Catalogue Note
This work is a characteristic example of Cuzco School Marian imagery, identifiable by its flat pictorial space, hieratic frontal presentation, stylized facial features, and dense decorative surface. The Virgin is shown crowned and holding a scepter, emphasizing her role as Queen of Heaven, while the Christ Child raises his hand in blessing—an iconography closely associated with Andean colonial devotion.
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