Angel arcabucero

The Cuzco school of painting, one of the most important in American art, began in the town of Cuzco and extended along the Andes area this aesthetic expression of the virreynal society. During the 17th and 18th centuries, along with the Spanish versions of the Madonna, the Saints and the Crucifixion: clear and didactic paintings intended to illustgrate the religious sermons. The indigenous painters gradually moved away from the European influences and created a style of painting which is singularly beautiful and original and which transformed into a popular art form: the Virgin, alone or with the Child; the Cuzco Madonnas; the “Arcabuceros” -sumptuously dressed Archangels, armed as soldiers of the Heavens; the Holy Family; the Virgin as a child; St.Michael the Archangel. Families of Indian and Mestizo painters continue in Perú, Bolivia and Argentina today, recreating and enhanching this style of painting, using the techniques and models of their ancestors.