PERU, late 17th-early 18th century The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem Oil on canvas 54 ¾ x 67 ¾ inches (139 x 172 cm) Inscribed (from the Latin Vulgate Bible): DICITE FILIAE SION ECCE REX TUUS VENIT TIBI MANSUETUS ET SEDENS SUPER ASINAM ET PULLUM FILIUM SUBIU(-GALIS); (King James Version): “Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. “(Matthew 21:5) This painting depicts Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, on the day known to Christians as Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter). The event marks the beginning of Holy Week ceremonies, among the most solemn (and theatrical) in the Hispanic world. The composition that the artist used here recalls frieze bas-reliefs on ancient sarcophagi and their transmutation in Christian art; 16th-century compositions by Dürer, and the crowded groupings by Tullio Lombardo like those in the Bernabò Chapel of San Giovanni Cristostomo (1501; Venice) . There are a number of recorded processional paintings in Peru, notably the Corpus Christi paintings in Cuzco. In this case, the children with palms are dressed in clothing contemporary to the painting’s epoch; Spanish balloon breeches and stockings. Other than that, the artist (or patron) wanted the character of the painting to maintain its biblical tradition (this event as Christ’s Moment), rather than including identifiably Andean spectators.
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