Baroque painting of the Coronation of the Virgin Mary surrounded by angels, with Christ and God the Father placing a crown upon her head, by Italian-Peruvian artist Bernardo de Bitti

The Cusco School of Painting

Have you ever heard of the famous depiction of  Christ’s Last Supper in the Cathedral of Cusco, where the main dish is a roasted guinea pig?

Have you ever heard of that painting described as being Cuzco Baroque?

Well, it’s not. Marcos Zapata painted his Last Supper in 1748, nearly a half century after the Baroque period had ended.

The Last Supper by Marco Zapata (1748) most famous for the guinea pig featured as the main course.
The Last Supper by Marco Zapata 1748 most famous for the guinea pig featured as the main course

There’s a popular tendency to incorrectly lump all Cusco School (Escuela Cuzqueña) of painting into that one particular historic category of art.

Here is a very brief rundown, with examples, of the main periods of the Cusco School, famous for the intertwining of Catholic themes with Andean iconography with the intent to evangelize native communities.

Mannerist: 1580-1660

Bernardo de Bitti - La Coronación de la Virgen
Bernardo de Bitti The Coronation of the Virgin

Baroque: 1660-1700

Diego Quispe Tito - The House of Nazareth
Diego Quispe Tito The House of Nazareth
Desposorio de la Virgen - anonimo
The Marriage of the Virgin Anonymous

Syncretist: 1700-1790

Marco Zapata Last Supper - 1748

Pintura Popular: 1700-1790

Tadeo Escalante Hell

Rick Vecchio, Fertur's director of development and marketing, was educated at the New School for Social Research and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. He worked for Pacifica Radio WBAI and as a daily reporter for newspapers in New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts. Then in 1996, he decided it was time to realize a life-long dream of traveling to Peru. He never went back.

While serving as Peru country manager for the South American Explorers from 1997-1999, he fell in love with Fertur's founder, Siduith Ferrer, and they married. Over the next six years, he worked as a correspondent for The Associated Press. Meanwhile, Siduith built the business, which he joined in January 2007.

Now he designs custom educational and adventure tour packages for corporate and institutional clients, oversees Fertur's Internet platform and occasionally leads special trips, always with an eye open for a good story to write about.

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