Indochristian art

For Christian art in India, see Christianity in India § Art and architecture.
The Potosí Madonna depicts the Cerro Rico in Potosí with the face of the Virgin Mary, evoking the Andean earth mother Pachamama. The Holy Trinity, Christian angels and saints, and the Sun and Moon (which the Incas saw as gods) are shown at the top of the painting, and Spanish authorities look on from below, while an Inca in royal garb is seen on the hill itself.[1][2]

Indochristian art (Spanish: arte indocristiano), is a type of Latin American art that combines European colonial influences with Indigenous artistic styles and traditions.

During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Franciscan, Dominican, and Augustinian monks extensively converted indigenous peoples to Christianity, introducing them to European arts and aesthetics. The arts of this period reflect a fusion of European and indigenous religious beliefs, aesthetics, and artistic traditions.

The term Indochristian art was coined by Constantino Reyes-Valerio, a scholar of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture and arts, in his book, Indochristian Art, Sculpture and Painting of 16th Century Mexico. Reyes-Valerio's work focused on the painting and sculpture of churches and monasteries in New Spain, but had broader implications for the analysis of art throughout Latin America.[3]

  1. ^ "La Virgen Del Cerro" (in Spanish). Casa Nacional de Moneda. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  2. ^ Leibsohn, Dana; Mundy, Barbara (2005). "Vistas: Visual Culture in Spanish America, 1520-1820". Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  3. ^ Reyes-Valerio, Constantino (2000). "Arte Indocristiano: Pintura y Escultura en la Nueva España". www.azulmaya.com. Retrieved 2017-04-07.