Saint John the Evangelist

Saint John the Evangelist

18th century
Artist
unknown artist
Country
Peru
Style/Tradition
Cuzco School Peruvian Colonial
Object
painting
Medium
Oil paint on canvas
Accession Number
1969.343
Credit Line
Gift of John Critcher Freyer for the Frank Barrows Freyer Collection

Unknown artist, St. John the Evangelist, 1700s. Oil paint on canvas; 60 × 48 in. Gift of John Critcher Freyer for the Frank Barrows Freyer Collection at the Denver Art Museum, 1969.343.

Dimensions
height: 60 in, 152.4000 cm; width: 48 in, 121.9200 cm
Department
Mayer Center, Latin American Art
Collection
Latin American Art

The four gospels in the New Testament of the bible were penned by four (of the twelve) apostles of Jesus -- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. St. John the Evangelist is shown here as a full length figure holding a book, the bible, to which he was a contributor. The primary image and symbols of St. John the Evangelist (holding a book and a cruciform staff) may have been copied from a European print source by an artist in Cuzco, Peru, a practice that was common among artists of the time.
     While at first glance the painting 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, many paintings from Cuzco exhibit an extremely lush landscape populated with numerous tropical birds and flowers scattered about. Birds were important to the Inca, considered sacred in their ability to fly and get closer to the sun god. Angels with feather wings are part of Christian imagery the world over and the inclusion of angels with red and blue wings (red and blue were sacred colors to the Inca) are common in Peruvian highland paintings. 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

Known Provenance
Collected about 1922-23 in Cuzco, Peru by Maria Engracia Critcher Freyer [1888-1969]; by descent entered Collection of Mr. John Critcher Freyer [1923-1992], Denver, CO; gifted 24 October 1969 to the Denver Art Museum. Provenance research is on-going at the Denver Art Museum. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.
Exhibition History
  • "Decorative Arts of Spain and Spanish America," Toledo Museum of Art, November 2-30, 1930
  • Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., 1931-1939
  • "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.