Placido Costanzi

Annunciation

Provenance: Private Collection, Argentina; there acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Ernest T. Harper, New York, by 1960; by descent to: Mr. and Mrs. Alan Harper, New York, until 2024. This extraordinary mirrored frame is an exuberant and nearly perfectly preserved example of Andean 18th-century decorative art. Pierced mirrored rosettes surrounding floral motifs are set against mirrored surrounds along a broad frieze bordered within and without by elaborate raised moldings, inlaid by small, shaped mirrors. Repeating ornamental motifs reflecting both Spanish and indigenous designs surround both the inside panel and the exterior perimeter, the four corners of which are punctuated by mirrored rosettes. Glass mirrors were unknown to the indigenous population of the Americas prior to the arrival of Europeans (obsidian mirrors...

Provenance: Private Collection, Paraguay, for at least the last 80 years Painted in the Viceroyalty of Peru during the 18th century, the present work depicts the young Christ as the Niño de la Espina—a devotional representation of Christ as he looks down at his bleeding finger, which has been pricked by the crown of thorns resting on his lap. The subject of the Young Christ Pricked by a Thorn was especially popular in Cuzco, and the rich details and decorative elements of our work perfectly capture the essence and style of the Cuzco School of painting. In our painting, Christ wears an intricately patterned floor-length robe trimmed with gilded cuffs and a gilded collar. The delicate gilding, including the halo of golden rays emanating from his head, are executed in brocateado, an ornamental over-gilding technique that is characteristic of the Cuzco School. The red chair on which Christ sits also includes brocateado in the decorative gilt elements. The form of the chair takes inspiration from those commonly used by friars both in Spain and the Andes, known as silla frailera or sillon frailero, and was also frequently employed in related depictions of the Virgin Mary Spinning. Here the young Christ is rendered with soft, elongated features that reflect the influence of the Italian Mannerist painters who were pivotal to the formation of the Cuzco School, including the Jesuit friar Bernardo Bitti and Matteo Pérez del Alesio. Additionally, while its origins can be traced to Northern European pictorial traditions, the lush flower garland that frames the work is a signature feature of Cuzqueño painting...