#5525 - Our Lady of Guapulo - 18th c. Cuzco

The painting “Our Lady of Guápulo” shown in this stamp was produced in the 18th century by an unknown artist living in Cuzco, Peru which was the center of the Incan Empire. Historians categorize the artists from this era as belonging to the Cuzco school. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, European painters worked with native artists in and around Cuzco. The Europeans trained them in the methods and fashion that were popular in Europe at the end of the Renaissance and during the Baroque era. “Our Lady of Guápulo” is based on a shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe in Extremadura, Spain. The figure praised as Our Lady of Guápulo was originally a sculpture commissioned in Quito, Ecuador, in 1584. It was later moved to the nearby village of Guápulo in 1587. Similar to the Spanish holy image from which she originated, the statue was credited with many miracles. Represented by many artists since then, she is often portrayed dressed in an ornate, pyramid-shaped robe fastened with a rosary, holding a flowered scepter in one hand and the Christ Child in the other. Scott 5525 Our Lady of Guapulo