Raul Montero Quispe – Jesuit Art in Cuzco and Forced Dispersal: The Series of Venerable Jesuit Fathers from the Church of Maranganí

After the 1786 appraisal and auction of Jesuit properties in Cusco, the Marangani temple, located south of the city near the border with the province of Puno, received a batch of paintings, a group of which belonged to the series of Venerable Jesuit Fathers; currently, nine canvases from this series remain. These paintings, adorning this modest indigenous church, were part of the| dispersal of Jesuit order artworks following their expulsion. This temple decoration likely followed decisions by the high clergy, rather than the choice of the indigenous community, who utilized major Jesuit works to embellish churches in Cusco city and its surrounding towns. Until then, colonial America had not witnessed such a forced movement of artworks, which among many effects, implied a change in the original context and purpose of these pieces.

Churches, convents, monasteries, and chapels in Cusco city and the region were enriched with Jesuit-origin artworks. The Regional Archive of Cusco preserves documents detailing these transfers, as do the recipient parishes’ inventories kept in the Archbishop’s Archive of Cusco, noting Jesuit origins of paintings, sculptures, silverware, and various objects. As an example of this forced displacement, we can highlight works from the parishes of Chinchaypujio, Rondocan, San Pablo, and even distant places like the Lima Sagrario. Other scholars have treated this topic lightly, possibly interested in the spread of the works. However, in this presentation, I will focus on the transgression of these paintings in the indigenous context far from Cusco and the Jesuits.

The Marangani church provides a particular example to study this forced dispersion of artworks, as having a larger number of Jesuit-origin canvases allows us to reconstruct their intended functionality and observe their documented displacement. Utilizing sources such as the Junta de Temporalidades, parish books of Maranganí, and notarial protocols, along with the iconographic analysis of these nine paintings, I will demonstrate evidence of this forced movement as a phenomenon reminding us that the church has always been a space in contention.

Photographer and Historian by vocation with more than 10 years of experience documenting Peruvian heritage. I have won numerous photography awards and have contributed to distinguished academic publications such as “El Púlpito de San Blas” by Manuel Gibaja, “Tesoros de la Catedral del Cusco” “Pintura en Hispanoamérica 1550-1820” from El Viso editions, “Tesoros del Templo de Nuestra Señora de Belén” as well as publications from Banco BCP’s editorial fund. My commitment to academia is reflected in my participation in two artcongresses where I have presented groundbreaking investigations.