The Virgin of the Andes: Art and Ritual in Colonial Cuzco

Rating:
Summary: More Mist from the Mountains
Review: Ever learn to draw a kitty by making a stack of three circles, progressively smaller from top to bottom? If so, would you conclude that everywhere you see three circles (a pawn shop, for example) there is occult symbolism of a secret feline cult? That's the kind of argument that underlies one of the basic premises of this slender volume: Andean paintings of the Virgin Mary show Her dressed in a stiff, voluminous cloak that creates the impression of a triangle, a cone; mountains are somewhat conical; inhabitants of the Andes worshipped mountains: therefore, pictures of the Virgin are actually secret objects of pagan idolatry.

There may be merit to the premise, but it is not demonstrated in this book except by a single (remarkable) painting that shows the Virgin's features actually emerging from Cerro Potosi. But does this prove the author's premise, or is it a reference to the hill's proverbial status as a source of limitless riches? It would be useful to see more overt examples that support the author's point of view, but this one picture and an anecdote are all the proof that's given. Curiously, many of the full-page illustrations show pre-columbian pieces (especially featherwork) that could easily be referenced at thumbnail scale, leaving room for a broader assortment of examples of the main topic. This monograph could also profit from a deeper inquiry into the dressing of religious statues in the Catholic tradition. (Many of the Virgin paintings actually portray statues that were objects of devotion, rather than the person of the Virgin. The cult of the Infant of Prague is one of the few examples of dressed-up statues familiar, at least to Catholics, in the United States.)

I found the price rather high ..., since there is not much in the text to make it an object of study and reference; and the illustrations, while attractive, cannot be described as sumptuous.

Rating:
Summary: More Mist from the Mountains
Review: Ever learn to draw a kitty by making a stack of three circles, progressively smaller from top to bottom? If so, would you conclude that everywhere you see three circles (a pawn shop, for example) there is occult symbolism of a secret feline cult? That's the kind of argument that underlies one of the basic premises of this slender volume: Andean paintings of the Virgin Mary show Her dressed in a stiff, voluminous cloak that creates the impression of a triangle, a cone; mountains are somewhat conical; inhabitants of the Andes worshipped mountains: therefore, pictures of the Virgin are actually secret objects of pagan idolatry.

There may be merit to the premise, but it is not demonstrated in this book except by a single (remarkable) painting that shows the Virgin's features actually emerging from Cerro Potosi. But does this prove the author's premise, or is it a reference to the hill's proverbial status as a source of limitless riches? It would be useful to see more overt examples that support the author's point of view, but this one picture and an anecdote are all the proof that's given. Curiously, many of the full-page illustrations show pre-columbian pieces (especially featherwork) that could easily be referenced at thumbnail scale, leaving room for a broader assortment of examples of the main topic. This monograph could also profit from a deeper inquiry into the dressing of religious statues in the Catholic tradition. (Many of the Virgin paintings actually portray statues that were objects of devotion, rather than the person of the Virgin. The cult of the Infant of Prague is one of the few examples of dressed-up statues familiar, at least to Catholics, in the United States.)

I found the price rather high ..., since there is not much in the text to make it an object of study and reference; and the illustrations, while attractive, cannot be described as sumptuous.