Aleteia logoAleteia logoAleteia
Thursday 03 October |
Saint of the Day: St. Theodora Guerin
Aleteia logo
Travel
separateurCreated with Sketch.

Baroque rifle-wielding Peruvian angels of the 17th century

WEB3-ANGEL-RIFLE-003-MAIN-Public-Domain

Public Domain | Wikipedia

Daniel Esparza - published on 03/27/17

“Ángeles arcabuceros” are to be found nowhere but in Cuzco.

Martial angels are often depicted with spears, shields or swords, in a more classic Roman or medieval fashion. But when Andean nobles and aristocrats of the Viceroyalty of Perú began to reproduce Dutch and Spanish engravings in the 17th century in the overseas provinces of the Spanish Empire, the weapons the heavenly army wielded radically changed. All of a sudden, angels abandoned their more traditional weapons, trading them for arcabuces, the classic 15th-century European muzzle-loaded firearm.

Most of these “ángeles arcabuceros” (“arquebusier angels”) correspond to apocryphal angels. Uriel, mentioned in the Second Book of Esdras (one of the pseudoepigraphal books that were included in an Appendix to the Vulgate Bible) was depicted frequently by the Cusquenan painters. Most of these apocryphal motifs, even though prohibited in Europe, survived in the colonies, probably due to the influence of certain collections of engravings, treatises and other pious images.

Make sure you go through the slideshow to admire the unique beauty of this exclusively Peruvian Baroque approach to angelic iconography.

Enjoying your time on Aleteia?

Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you.

Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting Catholic news, stories, spirituality, and more.

Aleteia-Pilgrimage-300×250-1.png
Daily prayer
And today we celebrate...




Top 10
See More
Newsletter
Get Aleteia delivered to your inbox. Subscribe here.