High Roads to Colonial Art - "Escuela Cuzqueña" Influence in the Philippines
One of the wood panel paintings -"San Cristobal" in Paete Church, Laguna. By Jose Luciano Dans (1805 - 1870) Wiki One curious cargo of the "Nao de China" or the trading galleons of the Manila-Acapulco trade route in the early 17th century were objects for the propagation of the Christian faith - religious artworks. These artworks held great importance for religious orders, and any duties associated with their transport were waived due to their significance. The markets and ports of Nueva España were flooded with both merchants and copiers of religious art. A prevailing artistic norm or style existed in the Americas, and its origin was high in the Andes Mountains, in the former Inca capital of Cusco, Peru. This Catholic religious artistic tradition came to be known as the "Escuela Cuzqueña" (The Cuzco School). In the early years of evangelization in the Americas, the art of painting religious themes also flourished in the high Andes. Baroque art, wi