The Virgin of Quito

One of the biggest imports into Ecuador by the Spanish was Catholicism. Once they colonized the region, the Spanish began to forcibly convert indigenous peoples to Catholicism. Because of this, there was a lot of art created about religious figures and objects. The figurine of the Virgin of Quito is a great example of this. It is unknown exactly who created this figurine but it was based on the painting and sculpture created by Miguel de Santiago and Bernardo Legarda respectively (Hecht). Idols of this sort are often used for home worship and by missionaries to increase the visual aspects of Christianity.

Religion was one of the most powerful forces that colonizers used to take over Latin American countries. The missionaries that came to Latin America were seen as authority figures and a tactic of hegemony was utilized to gain control. Hegemony is a form of domination in which those at the top are able to take over due to some form of consent or acceptance from those on the bottom (Chasteen, 63). Since religious figures in Latin America had access to more resources, they were seen as superior by many indigenous peoples. They controlled the education system and also had a lot of land which are both signs of status (Chasteen).

Missionaries provided a sense of cultural superiority and made the Spanish feel that they were meant to be there since they were “saving” the indigenous peoples living in Ecuador. Indigenous peoples had their own systems of worship before the Spanish arrived but the Spanish dismissed them and often referred to them as barbaric or savage. Because of this, they worked hard to spread the message of Christianity hoping to “rescue” the people of Ecuador and one of the ways to spread that was through art creating a physical reminder of the role and power of Christianity.

Works Cited:

Hecht, Johanna. “Polychrome Sculpture in Spanish America.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/spsc/hd_spsc.htm (October 2003)

Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood and Fire. 4rd edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 2016.