Lord of the fall

The work responds to a frequent genre in Andean Viceregal painting: the painted wood carvings or trompe l’oeil in the “divine-style”. These canvases represent cult effigies, famed for miracles, almost always depicted in the niche of an altar. This example, however, appears to recreate a processional float, intended to present one of Christ’s falls on his way to Calvary. Christ is shown carrying the cross, accompanied by the Virgin Mary, and Saint John the Evangelist, who are represented as living figures and not as wooden sculptures, even though the objects that accompany them suggest the latter. This ambiguity is even greater with respect to the angels and cherubs, whose presence in the scene appears to respond exclusively to a celestial apparition. Of course, it consists of an intentional effect that attempts to suggest the potent presence of divine figures with the aim of intensely moving the spectators. The supernatural character of the image is strengthened by the numerous decorative elements that pack the composition. (RK)