Painting and Performing the Past: Representation of a Historical Marriage in Eighteenth-Century Peru
Subject Area
Art History/Criticism/Conservation, Art, History, Humanities, Humanities
Abstract
This thesis establishes the connection between painting and performance as crucial for understanding eighteenth-century representations of the historic marriage of the Inca ñusta (princess) Beatriz Clara Sairitupac and her Spanish husband Martín García Óñez de Loyola. During the eighteenth-century, the marriage was repeatedly commemorated through both paint and theatrical performance as part of the mythologization of the early history of the Viceroyalty of Peru. My study addresses the only two paintings known to remain in their original locations: the Compañía de Jesús in Cuzco and the Beaterio de Nuestra Señora de Copacabana in Lima. I analyze both paintings in conjunction with corresponding theatrical performances to demonstrate how representations of the historic marriage drew audiences into a dynamic and forceful partnership with an idealized view of history.
The first painting and performance were commissioned by the Jesuit order in Cuzco, the former capital of the Inca empire. In contrast, the painting and performance in Lima were commissioned by indigenous nobles in the viceregal capital city dominated by Spanish and criollo society. Both social groups, the Jesuits in Cuzco and the indigenous nobility in Lima, claimed to be symbolic heirs of the Inca and Jesuit union. The Jesuits in Cuzco traced their connection to Martín, who was the nephew of San Ignacio de Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. They represented the marriage as a means to bolster their local authority and management of the land granted to the descendants of Beatriz and Martín. For the indigenous elites in Lima who sought to increase their rights and privileges as nobles, the familial union of Inca and Spaniard symbolized the equality of Spanish and indigenous nobility. They celebrated Beatriz as the last member of the Inca royal line at Vilcabamba and united behind an inclusive interpretation of the Inca as a symbol of pan-indigenous nobility.
Degree Date
Spring 2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Art History
Advisor
Adam Jasienski
Second Advisor
Amy Freund
Third Advisor
Adam Herring
Number of Pages
87
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Fitzgerald, Xena, "Painting and Performing the Past: Representation of a Historical Marriage in Eighteenth-Century Peru" (2020). Art History Theses and Dissertations. 6.
https://scholar.smu.edu/arts_arthistory_etds/6
Included in
Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture Commons, Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons
