Degrees of Indigenous Autonomy: Aestheticizing Artistic Survivance in Colonial Cuzco (1690s-1780s)

Abstract

Frequently, Indigenous studies scholars apply theoretical approaches and methodologies to assess Europe's impact on the Americas. In an art historical context, there is a persistent tendency to narrate Indigenous traditions and material culture from the perspective of a Euro-American Western society, placing Indigenous works of art at the bottom of a hierarchy of aesthetics. Contrary to most published research, I aim to draw upon my Indigenous perspective as a person of Peruvian and Shasta heritage to aid my examination in highlighting the inequalities and disparities present within the visual interactions and exchanges of the early modern period. Through the artworks of three biracial Indigenous painters from Cuzco, which include Basilio de Santa Cruz Pumacallao, Marcos Zapata, and Antonio Oblitas, I explore themes of identity, historicity, and coloniality. My research begins with an analysis of these three artists, positioning them as active agents who, despite the constraints of colonialism, used their interracial identities and artistic practices to assert Inca cultural presence. The composition of the thesis is based on a chronological sequence of their paintings created between the late 1690s and the early 1780s. Each artist serves as an individual case study to illuminate their individual and significant contributions to Indigenous resistance. While this structure emphasizes each of their efforts, I also aim to demonstrate a broader pattern of Indigenous opposition and visual defiance over nearly a century. I assert that the colonization of Latin America is evident in these artists’ works, where they employed subversive aesthetic techniques to counter oppressive elements, such as heteropatriarchy, forced assimilation, and Eurocentric modernity. By examining their strategies of resilience and adaptation, I aim to contribute to the growing efforts to decolonize art history. In totality, this study challenges dominant narratives, highlighting the realities of colonization in the Americas and the enduring presence of Indigenous resistance, creativity, and survivance.