Adoration of the Magi
- Marcos Zapata, circa 1710-1773
- Work Locations: Cuzco, Peru
- Cipriano Toledo y Gutiérrez, Peruvian
- Work Locations: Cuzco, Peru
- Active Years: 1762-1775
Marcos Zapata and his workshop, Adoration of the Magi, about 1760. Oil paint and gold leaf on canvas; 74 × 49⅝ in. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Barrows Freyer II for Frank Barrows Freyer Collection at the Denver Art Museum, 1969.347.
Marcos Zapata (1710-1773) was an Indigenous painter who was born and worked in Cuzco, Peru. Cipriano Toledo y Gutiérrez (active 1762-1775) was a mestizo (Spanish father, Indigenous mother) artist who was trained in Zapata's workshop with whom he collaborated. This oil on canvas Adoration of the Magi is attributed to these painters who worked from a European print source, as was common artistic practice, to paint the subject matter, composition, and Christian symbolism. Joseph at far left holds a stalk of lilies while Mary presents the baby Jesus to the three kings on the right.
While at first glance this might look to be a European style religious painting there are some elements that make it uniquely Peruvian. The extraordinary use of gold stamping to create the pattern on the cloth is exclusive to Cuzco and the surrounding highland areas, including Bolivia. Also, the "camels" in the background look more like llamas or alpacas. Although Lima became the political capital of colonial Peru, Cuzco remained its artistic capital, as it had been in Inca times.
--Julie Wilson Frick & Donna Pierce, 2015
- Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art, September - October 1926
- "Decorative Arts of Spain and Spanish America," Toledo Museum of Art, November 2-30, 1930
- "Paintings & Decorative Art of XVI and XVII-Century Peru Collected by Mrs. Frank Freyer," Brooklyn Museum of Art, December 20, 1930 - September 30, 1931
- Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., 1931-1939
- "Loan Exhibition of Latin American and Pre-Columbian Art, "Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Michigan, July 7-25, 1939
- "Three Southern Neighbors - Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia," Newark Museum, April 14-December 31, 1942
- "The Frank Barrows Freyer Collection of Spanish-Peruvian Paintings," Lowe Art Gallery, University of Miami, November 14, 1961-January 28, 1962
- "Treasures from Peru: Spanish Colonial Paintings from the School of Cuzco," Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, 1967
- "The Frank Barrows Freyer Collection of Spanish Peruvian Paintings in the Denver Art Museum," The High Museum of Art, December 7-29, 1969.