MASP

The expression “Cusco School” designates a pictorial tradition of the Viceroyalty of Peru, specially of the Cusco region, that developed mainly after the earthquake of 1650. During the reconstruction process of several churches, many artists and artisans developed their own style, mixing European references (from the Italian Mannerism or the Flemish painting) and local cultural elements. The Cusco School is associated to the Andean Baroque and characterized by the absence of perspective and the volume in the treatment of figures, as well as the detail and richness in representing garments and ornaments. Many of the works were collectively made in ateliers, making it difficult to identify their authorship, as is the case of the painting Virgin of Los Remedios. It is an invocation of the Virgin Mary from Valencia, Spain, where she was called Virgin of the Helpless. In the Spanish city, there used to be a hospital and a sanctuary with a sculpture of the Virgin from which ensued engravings and paintings that circulated throughout Latin America. Probably this work of the MASP collection represents such image, a copy of which could be found in the Cusco cathedral, while its commission might have been made by the two men portrayed in its lower part.

— MASP Curatorial Team, 2017

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