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THE CUZCO SCHOOL PAINTING AS A WORLDVIEW MODEL // ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2021. Issue 1 (27). P. 124-141

The article considers the phenomenon of the Cuzco School of painting (one of the most original phenomena of cultural life not only in the Andean region, but also in Latin America in general during the colonial period) as a reflection of the worldview of the Indians of the colonial period. Indians themselves created paintings, although under the control of the Spanish clergy, in order to Christianize the local population, which makes these visual sources important. Despite the significance of the topic and the number of studies devoted to it, many aspects of the problem have not yet been fully interpreted. In many ways, this applies to ideological and worldview aspects. In this regard, the author analyses Cuzco paintings in semiotic, rather than purely artistic, terms: what aspects of the worldview are behind a particular symbol and motif. To solve this problem, the author analyzes a number of paintings of the Cuzco School (the most promising for the research) in order to identify the worldview elements – reflected in the images, motifs, and colors – the paintings contain. It is impossible to conduct such an analysis without using comparative data from other sources on the peculiarities of the Indian worldview, especially written ones. The simultaneous creation of both groups of sources allows drawing relevant parallels with respect to the same research objects. For the convenience and clarity of the analysis, the author typologizes worldview elements based on the principle of origin. Traditionally, they can be divided into Indian, Spanish-Christian, and mixed. The author also gives a brief overview of the main artistic traditions that influenced the formation of the school (Spanish Baroque, Indian beliefs and elements of art, etc.). The analysis of the artistic and stylistic features of the works from the point of view of their ideological content allows drawing the following conclusions. Firstly, many of the symbols and motifs of the Cuzco School go directly back to pre-Hispanic Indian beliefs. Secondly, many of these symbols and motifs are not explicit yet can be read without much effort. Thirdly, the Spanish-Christian elements are largely external, declarative in nature, with a number of concessions to pagan motives. All this suggests that the worldview of the Indians of the colonial period was complex and multi-faceted in its composition. At the same time, it is important to note that none of the worldview systems appears in its original form because of the dramatic process of the collision of these two systems and the creation of a new one on their basis. Nevertheless, based on the analysis of the paintings of the Cuzco School, there is reason to believe that in this mosaic system of the Indian worldview, pre-Hispanic elements can be considered pre-existing. All this testifies to a genuine synthesis of worldviews and to the mestizo character of the Cusco School as a cultural and social phenomenon.

Keywords: Cuzco School, history and culture of Peru, colonial period, religion