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Cuzco
Escuela
Cuzqueña-Cuzco school of painting
A school which combines techniques of 16th & 17th century Europe
with the imagination of Indian artists of the Andean highlands,
who had only a few Spanish samples as guidance. Cuzco was the capital
of the Inca Empire, which was captured by the Spanish conquerors
led by Francisco Pizarro in 1553. Although Cuzco was the main centre
of this school, it could also be found in the Andean regions of
Ecuador, Bolivia and Columbia. Local artists also used the paintings
as a form of a protest against their Spanish rulers. Many Cuzco
paintings display Inca symbols. The Incas believed that their Emperor
was descended from the sun, so the halo is often replaced by the
sun. Madonnas (Mamachás) were sometimes painted with European
faces, but with Inca cloaks and head wear. Archangels were also
popular Spanish subjects often painted with an "arcabucero",
a 15th century long barrelled gun. We commission highly skilled
Andean artists to produce a wide variety of traditional style paintings
of which the originals can be found in musea and other private collections.