When Francisco Pizarro marched into the Inca Empire in 1532, he brought with him a foreign culture, foreign cultural symbols, and he was followed soon after by European artists. The works these artists created for South American churches were influential for decades--even centuries--afterwards.
Although the indigenous populations were outwardly receptive to the Spaniards' religious symbolism, their artistic expression developed as a melding of the imagery of their Inca origins with European Christian symbols.
The Viceroyalty of Perú was established by the Spaniards in 1542, and encompassed all the land in South America controlled by them. The Spaniards continued to acquire territory, and later the vast region was divided into smaller viceroyalties. These lands became the Viceroyalties of Perú (modern-day Peru and Bolivia), New Granada (1717; now the countries of Colombia and Ecuador), Rio de la Plata (1776-77; now the countries of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay), and the Captaincy-Generals of Venezuela (1773) and Chile (1778).
In the capital cities, such as Lima and Quito, artistic styles developed with some strong European influences. The more remote the city or town, the more local styles developed. This was especially true in the cities and towns high in the Andes, like Cuzco (the ancient Inca capital), the Lake Titicaca area, and Potosí and La Paz (now Bolivia).
Artists also moved among the cities in the Viceroyalties to work. We find paintings by the artist Angelino Medoro, for example, in Tunja (Colombia), Quito, and Lima. There are paintings by Diego Quispe Tito (an Inca painter) in both Cuzco and Lima. An absolute "purity" of regional styles is rare, because there were certainly influences from outside each region--as well as from Europe and Asia.
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