Escuela Cusqueña (XIX) - Ángel arcabucero

Magnificent painting on canvas attached to a panel from the 19th century.

This is known as the arquebus-bearing angel—the representation of an angel with an arquebus instead of the traditional sword. This style developed during the Spanish colonial period in South America.

In viceregal painting of Peru, the theme of angels is one of the most characteristic of the Cusco School of painting. Thus, we find that paintings depicting them develop this pictorial theme in a much more detailed way than in the European case, also showing great expressive richness and, in general, excellent execution.

- Frame measurements: 34x28 cm.
- Painting measurements: 24x18 cm.

It is believed that the defining characteristics of the Cusco School style originated in the art of the Quechua painter Diego Quispe Tito.

Cusco School painting is characterized by the exclusive use of religious subjects, lack of perspective, and the predominance of red, yellow, and earth tones. They are also notable for their abundant use of gold leaf, especially with images of the Virgin Mary. Although Cusqueña painters were familiar with prints from Renaissance Byzantine, Flemish, and Italian art, their works were more free than those of their European tutors; they used bright colors and distorted, dramatic imagery. They often adapted themes to depict their native flora and fauna as a backdrop in their works. Arquebus-bearing angels became a popular motif in Cusqueña paintings.

Most Cusqueña paintings were created anonymously due to pre-Columbian traditions that define art as communal.