Circle of Diego Quispe Tito (Cuzco, Peru, 1611 - 1681)

Circle of Diego Quispe Tito (Cuzco, Peru, 1611 - 1681) "The Baptism of Christ" Oil on canvas. 80,5 x 64 cm. The dating and geographical location of this painting is based on a study of the materials used, the period, and the Cuzco style which was begun by Master Quispe Tito, such as the palette of colours, the Flemish influence in the landscape and the representation of local birds such as parrots and macaws that can be seen flying over the main scene. These elements used in the painting we have here, which dates from such an early stage of the Cuzco style, bring us closer to the master, so the painter of this canvas must have been someone very close to Quispe Tito. In later decades, the work and proliferation of the master's workshop reached levels never before seen in Cuzco painting. This early painting from the middle of the 17th century is inspired by one of Luis de Riaño's murals from the first third of the 17th century in the Church of AndahuayIillas and the artwork depicting the same iconography in the Church of Urcos by the indigenous muralist painter Diego Cusihuaman. Baptism is considered by the Christian Churches to be a fundamental moment in the life of the believer. The celebration of this sacrament is full of rites of rich spiritual and theological significance that show the high consideration that the communities of faith have had for baptism throughout the history of Christianity. Baptism along with the Eucharist are held by the Catholic Church to be the two most important sacraments, the only ones recognised by the Reformed Churches as having been instituted by Christ himself. In the Christian reading of the Old Testament, Baptism and the Eucharist are prefigured as an image or type, i.e. as a shadow of the new realities brought about by Christ. Together with the other five sacraments they form the canon of the seven sacraments, defined by the Church at the Council of Florence and ratified at the Council of Trent.