Women and Art in Colonial Latin America
This course explores the variety of ways that women were constructed and (re)presented in the visual arts of pre-Hispanic and colonial Latin America, particularly in the viceregal centers of Mexico and Peru. We will investigate women’s lives through the nature and history of their depictions, from the indigenous tradition of the codices through female saints, nuns, portraiture, allegory, and genre, in terms of the ways that these images reflect the roles, perception, and activities of women during the colonial era. A short section at the end of the course will consider some of the ways that these issues resonate today in the work of contemporary Peruvian women’s art cooperatives. Readings will be drawn from a broad range of disciplines and methodologies, including art history, anthropology, archaeology, gender studies, literature, ethno-history, and religious studies.
For the course I wrote a paper about the traveling statue of La Misericordia (the Virgin of Mercy) in colonial Ecuador and Peru, which can be read in the comments of this entry.
May 5th, 2009 at 9:47 am
La Peregrina de Quito:
An Exploration of the Traveling Misericordia in Colonial Peru and Ecuador
During the 16th and 17th centuries, a wooden statue of the Virgin of Mercy traveled throughout Peru and Ecuador, prompting many nearly identical statue-paintings celebrating the Virgin’s visit and commemorating the journey of the image. Used as a symbol of the Mercedarian Order, the Virgin of Mercy (or La Misericordia) originated from the European Mercedarian Order created by Peter Nolasco, and her iconography reflects a union of European and Andean art and religion as a result of the European conquest of New Spain. Many scholars have attempted to disseminate the specific influences of European art in what has become a widely recognized and worshipped statue throughout Peru and Ecuador. The combination of European Christianity with Andean art and appreciation for the natural world inevitably led to the widespread popularity of La Misericordia, making her pilgrimage successful.
Most notable to her transformation from the European original is her plumed, colonial-style hat, which is different than any other hats found indigenously in Ecuador or Peru. Where did these hats come from? Why are they repeated so frequently throughout Andean interpretations of the Virgin of Mercy? Through research of Andean clothing and traditional European pilgrimage attire, it can only be determined that these hats make it known that the Virgin is a pilgrim herself, visiting various convents and making processions throughout the Andean region. Historical accounts recognize the Virgin of Mercy as “la Peregrina de Quito” (the pilgrim of Quito) and her clothing reflects this status.
History of The Mercedarian Order and Its Expansion Into America
The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives (known as the Mercedarian, Order of the Merced, Order of the Blessed Virgin of Mercy) was first established in 1218 by Peter Nolasco as a charitable institution to aid in the redemption of captives from the Saracens during the Crusades. Those Christians who could not negotiate their own ransom were replaced with members of the Order until ransom was paid—although they also took a vow to remain until death if it meant the successful rescue of another Christian. Seeking divine inspiration while creating this fraternity, Nolasco had a Marian experience, in which the Virgin of Mercy appeared to him and prompted him to start the Order. This vision gave Nolasco the courage to approach King James I, who was said to have had a separate and similar experience with Virgin of Mercy, leading to the approval and creation of the Mercedarian Order. The Virgin of Mercy, having aided Nolasco, became a symbol of protection for the members of the confraternity and lay folk of medieval Europe.
In European art, typical iconography of the Virgin of Mercy depicts a modestly dressed Virgin with her arms and cloak outspread to protect those that asked her for shelter (Fig. 1). Occasionally angels hold her cloak so that her arms are free to carry Christ or help her followers—who are often members of a specific confraternity or donors. Visual evidence to create the images of the Virgin of Mercy was first drawn from the Dialogus Miraculorum, written by Caesar of Heisterbach and widely circulated in the 13th century. Written as an older monk teaching a younger boy, the book contains many accounts of miracles and was used didactically in churches throughout Europe. In the book, Heisterbach reports seeing the Virgin of Mercy and describes her appearance. This maternal version of the Virgin of Mercy was painted on the walls of confraternities and was loosely associated with the Mercedarian order in Europe.
As Spaniards first set foot in the Americas, members of the Mercedarian Order followed explorers and conquistadors, spreading Christianity and building convents in New Spain. Between 1534 and 1580, the Order of Mercy rapidly spread through Peru and Ecuador, some of the most prominent missionaries taking over the Andean region. As Sebastián de Benalcázar arrived in Quito, he donated lands to our Lady of Mercy, which were used by his accompanying Mercedarians, Hernando de Granada and Martín de Victoria. Convents were immediately established, and the Mercedarian men followed Benalcázar throughout Peru and Ecuador. As Christianity expanded, they brought imagery of the Virgin of Mercy, which was adopted by the indigenous residents of New Spain and began its iconographic transformation.
The Transformation of La Misericordia
Andean residents who combined their prior religious interests with spreading Christianity created art in workshops throughout Ecuador and Peru. “The religious images produced in these workshops, particularly the image of the Virgin Mary, were also the result of two distinct systems of artistic development—European and Andean. The native artist mastered both.” Carol Damien’s article ‘The Virgin of the Andes” describes the combination of Inca dedication to the Earth with incoming European influences, which directly led to the indigenous popularity of the Virgin of Mercy, as they found the art more recognizable. Native artists used typical Andean iconography, integrating aspects of the earth and the mountains in their depiction of the Virgin. In Andean art, the Virgin wears a mountain-shaped dress covered with elaborate brocade patterns reminiscent of tocapus, which hierarchically represented the elite in Inca society.
La Misericordia of New Spain is more decorated and detailed than her European counterpart. Most of the examples found in Peru and Ecuador are statue paintings of the Virgin of Mercy, images created to tell the story of the visiting Virgin as the original statues of the Virgin traveled from town to town (Fig. 2). The wooden body of the Virgin of Mercy is dressed in rich reds and gold, and, in most of the images, has lost her signature cape of European art. La Misericordia often holds lilies, symbolic of purity and her virginal status, and wears the Mercedarian escutcheon, promoting the Order as she travels across New Spain. Rather than sheltering her followers or protecting those rescued from captivity, la Misericordia is an emblem of growing Christianity, as she is painted and celebrated in each town she visits.
Julio Matovelle describes an original statue in “Imagenes y santuarios célebres de la Virgin Santísima en la America Española señaldamente en la República del Ecuador”:
Por las noticias que tenemos de esta Efigie, y algunos retratos auténticos que nos quedan de ella, sabemos que la Peregrina de Quito es una estatua de madera, de tamaño algo menor del natural; reproducción bastante exacta de la afamadísima imagen española conocida bajo el titulo de la Matrona de Barcelona, venerada en aquella ciudad desde los tiempos de San Pedro Nolasco. Conforme al original, la escultura que nos ocupa representa a la Virgen Santísima sentada en su trono, en actitud imponente y regia; con la mano izquierda, sostiene al divino Niño que aparece sentado también, en el regazo maternal, y con la diestra que se apoya en una de los brazos de la silla, levanta en alto el cetro. …. Ambas imágenes, conforme a la costumbre española, se visten de brocados y otras telas de gran precio; Nuestra Señora con el habito, escapulario, y manto de la Orden Mercedaria, y el divino Infante con tunica encarnada.
(From the news we have of this effigy, and those authentic portraits that remain of her, we know that the Pilgrim of Quito is a statue of wood, smaller than natural size; a nearly exact reproduction of the well-known Spanish image known under the title of the Matron of Barcelona, worshipped in that city from the time of St. Peter of Nolasco. Fitting the original, the sculpture we have represents the saintly Virgin seated on her throne, in an impressive and regal attitude; with her left hand she protects the divine Son who also appears seated in the maternal lap, and with the right hand which she supports one of the arms of the chair, she raises the scepter. .… Both images, fitting the Spanish custom, wear brocades and other expensive fabrics; Nuestra Señora with her habit, scapular, and cloak of the Mercedarian Order, and the divine Infant with a red tunic).
The Virgin of Mercy is described as the Pilgrim of Quito in the book, and Matovelle emphasizes her role as a traveling icon. The images that appear across New Spain serve as evidence to the expansion of the Mercedarian Order and the indigenous adaptation to European religious art.
Shepherds Hats and the Pilgrimage of the Virgin
Pilgrimage was a concept already in use before the European conquest of the Americas. As Damien describes:
Sacred pilgrimage is an essential aspect of Andean religion. The people make pilgrimage journeys to sacred locations—mountains, rocks, or caves—to pay tribute to the nature spirits who dwell there and leave offerings while pledging their servitude to the spirit of the land. The Virgin of Mercy combines all of these elements: she is agricultural protectress, pilgrim, and humble servant.
This religious journey was mirrored in Christian society, and it was natural for the Virgin of Mercy to combine the aspects of Andean and European pilgrimage. Processions within large towns prompted paintings by locals, and the image of La Misericordia was taken from her position inside the church and pushed to a more public view, as she was used to guard towns and promote Christianity. Paintings resulting from the traveling Virgin usually depict the statue sitting in a church, however there is evidence of La Misericordia preparing to go on longer journeys or being carried through town, proving she was well-traveled (Fig. 3).
Processions were both cross-country and within a single town. Chronicle of Colonial Lima: The Diary of Josephe and Francisco Mugaburu, 1640-1697 tells the story of a procession in Lima, during which they used the Virgin of Mercy to protect the town from an earthquake:
On Friday, the 26th of the month, another procession with all the merchants went from the Mercedarian monastery to the cathedral, bringing forth the [image of the] Mother of God, [Our Lady] of Mercy, which had never been taken out of the church.
Images of the Virgin that remained in the churches and did not travel were more reminiscent of European tradition, similar to the murals in confraternities or portraits in religious locations, as they did not need to be elebarote decorated for travel. The Andean tradition of pilgrimage permeated the Mercedarian Order of Peru and Ecuador, sending the statue of La Misericordia on processions and pilgrimages, which gave her a reason to be dressed in brocade and the black plumed hat.
The shepherd’s hat shown in the statue-paintings represents a union of Andean and European pilgrimage, as they are nearly exact replicas to those hats worn by Christians making pilgrimage in Europe. The hats worn by the Virgin and Jesus are not similar to hats found in ancient Peru or the Andean region, and it must be assumed that the hats were taken from European art. Hats from the Andean region are known as sombreros or monteras, and are either covered in embroidery or made of white straw (Fig. 4). Both traditional types of hats are shaped differently than those shown in the statue paintings of the Virgin of Mercy. As Blenda Femenías describes of contemporary Peru, “hats in several styles are primary means of distinguishing between communities,” yet there are no Andean communities, contemporary or colonial, that claim the plumed black hat.
As pilgrimage became more popular in Europe, pilgrim hats became more detailed as plumes were introduced and decorative pins were often added. Instead of pilgrim’s badges on the side of her hat, as was commonly worn in Europe, the Virgin has decorative flowers—another instance of the Andean appreciation of nature combining with European styles of art (Fig. 5). The hat worn by the Virgin and child appears to be a cavalier hat, one that became popular in Europe and was a variation on the pilgrim hat, as it has the addition of a plume (Fig. 6). La Misericordia’s hat seems to be a combination of the Andean style with the shape and plumage of the cavalier hat.
There are various instances of European pilgrims with plumed hats and it is highly probable that Inca artists used examples of European pilgrims in their art. Carol Damien describes the combination of European influence with indigenous art:
Regarding the Spanish contribution, there are Spanish images of the Virgin of the Pilgrims wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a feather, in the European style of pilgrimage hats; moveover, feathers may have been worn in the hats of the conquistadors. On the other hand, while feathered crowns are not found in the royal iconography associated with the Virgin as Queen of Heaven in European representations, it is significant to note that the feathers were long associated with ritual objects in the Andes and represent royalty in Inca iconography.
There are various theories on the origin of the use of the shepherd’s hat on the Virgin of Mercy, but there is no denying that it denotes her as a pilgrim.
The similar images of the Virgin of Mercy that appear across New Spain are a testament to her popularity among both indigenous and European people living in Peru and Ecuador. A union of religious ideals and iconography, the transformation of the Virgin from maternal and modest protector of Spain to the elaborately decorated statue of Quito retains some of her traditional features while adapting to Andean culture. Her clothing changes and she gains a plumed hat—a European influence separate from the Mercedarian Order that is used to unite two distinct religious worlds. The natural pilgrimages of the Andean region is for the first time associated with the Christian pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela and Rome, as the Virgin of Mercy dons a shepherd’s hat for her religious journey and is thus able to be more fully recognized and appreciated both in modern and historic society.
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