The Peruvian colonial architecture, developed in the
Viceroyalty of Peru
The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed fro ...
between the 16th and 19th centuries, was characterized by the importation and adaptation of European architectural styles to the Peruvian reality, yielding an original architecture.
Early academia has tended to view the Spanish architectural and religious takeover as complete and swift, but revisionist history emphasizes the lasting role of the indigenous in religious architecture.
The use of building systems as the
quincha, the ornamentation of Andean iconography and solutions to give new forms to Peruvian viceroyal architecture an own identity.
Renaissance style
In the early days of the
Viceroyalty
A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish conquest of the Americas in the sixteenth century.
France
* Viceroyalty of New France
Portuguese Empire
In the scope of the Portuguese Empire, the term " Viceroyalt ...
was developed the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
style, which had occurred in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
following the stream of the
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
. This style was characterized by the use of ornaments and watermarks that were giving away the architectural lines of the building's likeness chiseled work of silver, hence the name
plateresque
Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially architectural, developed in Spain and its territories, which appeared between the late Gothic and early Renaissance ...
and where art blends
Gothic,
Romanesque and
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
of the colonial period, from the 16th to mid-17th century. These are magnificent examples of this style in Lima facades of the
Cathedral of Lima
The Basilica Metropolitan Cathedral of Lima and Primate of Peru, otherwise Lima Metropolitan Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the Plaza Mayor of downtown Lima, Peru. This third and current Cathedral of Lima was built betwee ...
and the Casa de Pilatos. In
Ayacucho
Ayacucho (, qu, Ayak'uchu) is the capital city of Ayacucho Region and of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru.
During the Inca Empire and Viceroyalty of Peru periods the city was known by the name of Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga), and it c ...
the facades of the churches of San Francisco and La Merced.
Baroque style
The
Baroque was distinguished and characterized by his heavy ornamentation, of predominantly curved lines, giving an aspect of free movement. Predominant decorative elements in
columns
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...
,
pilaster
In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...
s,
cornices, and a modification of the classical forms, the Greek columns lose their purity to wring, as thick snakes, its trunks to form
Solomonic column
The Solomonic column, also called Barley-sugar column, is a helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew. It is not associated with a specific classical order, although most examples have Corinthian or Composite c ...
and ornaments acquired great exuberance.
A characteristic feature of this style is the
rustication that appears on the walls of the
Monastery of San Francisco, Lima
The monumental complex of the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco of Lima, also known as "San Francisco el Grande" or "San Francisco de Jesús", is located in the Historic Center of Lima, Peru. This church together with the Sanctuary Nuestra S ...
. This style prevailed since the middle of the 17th to the late 18th century, subsequently giving rise to
Churrigueresque
Churrigueresque (; Spanish: ''Churrigueresco''), also but less commonly "Ultra Baroque", refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th ...
and
Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
. There are representative examples of Baroque in
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
, the
Torre Tagle Palace, the churches of San Francisco and San Marcelo. In
Cuzco
Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...
the
Cathedral of Cuzco (
Andean Baroque
Andean Baroque (Spanish: ''Barroco andino'' or ''arquitectura mestiza'') is an artistic movement that appeared in colonial Peru between 1680 and 1780. It is located geographically between Arequipa and Lake Titicaca in what is now Peru, where rule ...
), the churches of Santo Domingo and San Sebastián. In
Arequipa the
Church of La Compañía.
Andean Baroque
During the late seventeenth and eighteenth century in the southern Andes (Southern
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
and
Bolivia) a new style developed which blended European Baroque with indigenous (
Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
,
Aymara
Aymara may refer to:
Languages and people
* Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language
** Aymara language, the main language within that family
** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...
) features such as the
kantuta flower and Inka
maskaypacha crown as well as native flora and fauna (Arequipa papayas and the Chiguanco thrush). It was created by primarily by indigenous sculptors, sometimes inspired by textile patterns. The new style appeared primarily on the stone carved facades of churches and palaces, first in
Arequipa and later in the
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, i ...
region and further south to Oruro and even into Chile. It was one of the most vigorous combinations of styles in all of colonial Latin America. The most important buildings are the
Church of La Compañía and Puno Cathedral.
[Bailey, Gauvin Alexander. ''The Andean Hybrid Baroque: Convergent Cultures in the Churches of Colonial Peru'' University of Notre Dame Press, 2010]
Churrigueresque baroque
It was the most ornate
Baroque and distinguished by the use of complicated and whimsical ornaments exaggerated, his advocate was a Spanish architect named
José de Churriguera
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
. These are magnificent examples of this style in Lima the facade of churches of
Nuestra Señora de la Merced and
San Agustín.
Rococo
:''See also
Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
''.
In the 18th century, with the introduction of the French Bourbon dynasty, came to Spain this style that was characterized by non-rounded
balconies
A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor.
Types
The traditional Maltese balcony is ...
, the decrease of ornaments in the ornamentation in columns (these are less twisted) while the characteristics of the
baroque are the use of curves and undulating lines.
The characteristics of
rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
are: the
Quinta de Presa, the Casa de Larriva (rococo facade but
Granadian), the
Trece Monedas House (rococo facade Lima), the
Osambela House and
Paseo de Aguas, all located in Lima.
Neoclassical style
In the late 18th and early 19th century came the style called
neoclassical, which was characterized by the dominance of a trend towards the return of the classic styles of
Greco-Roman architecture (using Romanesque columns with Corinthian capitals and without ornamentation, straight lines and simplicity in them, in addition to triangular frontispiece).
It was as a reaction against the
baroque. These are magnificent examples of this style the
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
and the towers of the
Cathedral of Lima
The Basilica Metropolitan Cathedral of Lima and Primate of Peru, otherwise Lima Metropolitan Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the Plaza Mayor of downtown Lima, Peru. This third and current Cathedral of Lima was built betwee ...
, the facade of the
Basilica and Convent of San Pedro, the main altar of the
Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, pilasters of the
Osambela House, the facade of
Fort Santa Catalina and
Presbyter Matías Maestro Cemetery.
See also
*
Architecture of Peru
*
Balconies of Lima
*
List of architectural styles
An architectural style is characterized by the features that make a building or other structure notable and historically identifiable. A style may include such elements as form, method of construction, building materials, and regional character. M ...
Notes
External links
Colonial Architecture Projectby
Gauvin Alexander Bailey
Gauvin Alexander Bailey is an American-Canadian author and art historian. He is Professor and Alfred and Isabel Bader Chair in Southern Baroque Art at Queen's University.
Bailey is a correspondent étranger at the Académie des Inscriptions et ...
{{Commons category, Colonial architecture in Peru, position=left
.
Viceroyalty of Peru
*
Architecture in Bolivia
Architecture in Peru
Colonial Peru
Tourist attractions in Peru