Webster, Susan Verdi. Lettered Artists and the Languages of Empire: Painters and the Profession in Early Colonial Quito

Abstract

First edition. Quito, Ecuador, was one of colonial South America's most important artistic centers. Yet the literature on painting in colonial Quito largely ignores the first century of activity, reducing it to a "handful of names," according to the author. In this book, the author identifies and traces the lives of more than fifty painters who plied their trade in the city between 1550 and 1650, revealing their mastery of languages and literacies and the circumstances in which they worked in early colonial Quito.--Publisher's description. Lettered painters and the languages of empire -- Materials, models, and the market -- The objects of painting -- Painters and the profession -- First generations, ca. 1550/1615 -- Pintar la figura de la letra : Andrés Sánchez Galque and the languages of empire -- Later generations, 1615/1650 -- Mateo Mexia and the languages of "style" -- Final considerations -- Appendix. Selected transcriptions of painting contracts -- A. Melchor de Alarcón, choir books, 1572 -- B. Diego de Robles and Luis de Ribera, Virgin of the Rosary, 1586 -- C. Andrés Sánchez Galque, Chimbo altarpiece, 1592 -- D. Lucas Vizuete, easel paintings, 1626 -- E. Miguel Ponce, altarpiece and paintings, 1633.