Art & Identity in Spanish America
Converging Cultures: Art & Identity in Spanish America
A Tale of Two Cities: Cuzco, Lima, and the Construction of Colonial Representation
Tom Cummins discusses the contrasting roles of Cuzco, the ancient Inca capital, and Lima, the newly established Spanish viceregal capital, in shaping colonial Peruvian art and identity. Unlike New Spain, where Mexico City was built upon the ruins of Tenochtitlan, colonial Peru saw a spatial and temporal separation between the Pre-Columbian past (Cuzco) and the colonial present (Lima).
This separation profoundly influenced the creation, perception, and interpretation of colonial Peruvian art. The terms "Cuzco school of painting" and "Lima school of painting" signify not just stylistic differences but also radically different experiences of art in each city. The distinct histories of Cuzco and Lima shaped unique spaces and audiences for colonial art. These cities constantly evolved through colonial paintings, sculptures, narratives, and rituals.
The Construction of Lima and Cuzco
Cuzco's character is ancient, while Lima's is new. Examining the Spanish foundation documents of each city reveals the fundamental distinction and its impact on Peruvian colonial art. Cuzco existed long before the Spaniards, revered as a holy city. Garcilaso de la Vega likened Cuzco to Jerusalem, calling it the "Navel of the World," implying it was the historical and cosmological center of a sacred world.
The austere walls of Cuzco's sacred buildings showcased Inca architecture and the power of the Inca state. Situated in a beautiful Andean mountain valley at feet, the city's atmosphere intensified the metaphysical magnificence, highlighting the unadorned walls with sharp lines of shadow and light. The Coricancha, the most sacred temple dedicated to Inti, was covered with golden plaques reflecting the sun. In , Francisco Pizarro declared the sacred plaza of Inca Cuzco as the plaza of Spanish Cuzco, redefining an already magnificent city with its own sacred history.
The colonial foundation of Cuzco redefined what already existed, superimposing new structures on old foundations, but the Inca presence could never be erased. Lima, although also compared to Jerusalem, was a different case. To the Spaniards, Lima was like the Jerusalem of the New Testament, a promised place in the coastal desert. Founded in , it was named "la ciudad de los Reyes." Unlike Cuzco, Lima was chosen not for its past but for its future potential, offering a harbor, firewood, water, and fields for planting. Lima was a fresh start, a place to build a new colonial age.
Pizarro envisioned Lima according to the Renaissance ideal of a city, with a grid plan. The cathedral and government buildings defined the center. The city's regularity was strategically important for its defense. A map of Cuzco from shows a meandering layout, contrasting with Lima's geometric plan. Lima’s newness allowed its Spanish colonial foundation to be clearly exhibited in its design. The Jesuit chronicler Bernabe Cobo saw Lima as one of the world’s great cities with a clear history from its beginning, created out of the viceregal future, whereas Cuzco was created out of the Inca past.