Art, Identity, and the Construction of the Church of Santo Domingo in Quito

Abstract

The recent rediscovery of an early seventeenth-century mural painting hidden beneath an eighteenth-century painting on canvas on the nave crossing arch of the Church of Santo Domingo provides striking visual evidence of individual and corporate identities and shifting devotional contexts at the Dominican monastery. Complementing and clarifying the visual evidence in the paintings, recently recovered archival documents confirm the identities, roles, and activities of the major protagonists in the Dominican artistic and building campaigns of the early seventeenth century.

The recent rediscovery of an early seventeenth-century mural painting hidden beneath an eighteenth-century painting on canvas on the nave crossing arch of the Church of Santo Domingo provides striking visual evidence of individual and corporate identities and shifting devotional contexts at the Dominican monastery. Complementing and clarifying the visual evidence in the paintings, recently recovered archival documents confirm the identities, roles, and activities of the major protagonists in the Dominican artistic and building campaigns of the early seventeenth century.

El reciente redescubrimiento de una pintura mural que data de principios del siglo xvii sobre el arco oeste del crucero de la iglesia de Santo Domingo, la cual había sido ocultada por un lienzo pintado a principios del siglo xviii, ofrece importante evidencia visual en cuanto a identidades individuales y corporativas, y subraya una transformación de devociones en el convento dominicano. Complementando y clarificando la evidencia visual, la nuevamente recuperada documentación en los archivos permite confirmar las identidades, los roles, y las actividades de los protagonistas principales en las campañas artísticas e arquitectónicas de los dominicos a principios del siglo xvii.

Keywords:

• QUITO
• SANTO DOMINGO
• COLONIAL
• ARCHITECTURE
• PAINTING
• DÁVILA