Details
ANONYMOUS (PERUVIAN, 18TH CENTURY)
Adoración de la Eucaristía con la Santísima Trinidad, santos y donantes
oil on canvas
unframed: 5834 x 4814 in. (149.2 x 122.6 cm.)
framed: 6318 x 5234 in. (160.3 x 134 cm.)
Provenance
Private collection, Asunción, circa 1940s
Acquired from the above by the present owner
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Lot Essay

This painting celebrates the exaltation of the Custody or the Blessed Sacrament, a central theme of Baroque Counter-Reformation art with profound resonance in the Andean sphere. At the center of the composition shines the Eucharistic custody, radiating divine light under the gaze of the Holy Trinity: the Father with the orb, the Son dressed as the High Priest, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. Around it, acolyte angels and celestial soldiers accompany the scene, while at the bottom, the Church Fathers—symbols of theological wisdom—meditate and write about the mystery of the Eucharist. Among them, we can distinguish Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome, Saint Gregory the Great, and Saint Ambrose.

Beneath the white tablecloth of the altar, it is possible to visualize a frontal that covers the altar. This frontal, in this Cuzco painting, combines Catholic liturgical symbolism with Andean textile aesthetics. Its floral and geometric design, executed with meticulous detail, evokes the ceremonial weavings of Inca tradition, reinterpreted in the context of Eucharistic worship. More than just an adornment, this textile sanctifies the space of sacrifice and reflects the divine light of the Blessed Sacrament. In Cuzco art of the 18th century, altar frontals became true visual bridges between Christian spirituality and indigenous sensitivity, exalting the union of both worlds in the American Baroque liturgy. Painted frontals constituted an alternative to those made of metal, primarily silver.

At the lower extremes, two praying figures representing an indigenous couple are shown in a devoted attitude, signifying human intercession before the divine. In Cuzco painting, these donors are inserted into sacred scenes without breaking the celestial hierarchy, but occupying a privileged place within the Catholic spiritual order. It is worth emphasizing that not every Christian faithful was included in these types of images, but only those descendants of the “Panaka” (Royal Family).

Regarding the backgrounds, they are golden, and the intricate brocades and devotional symmetry are characteristic of the style of the Cuzco Workshop of the mid-18th century, close to Mauricio García.

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