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The Passion of Christ in the Church of San Cristóbal de Rapaz: an example of medieval anti-Jewish iconography in colonial Peru?

The Passion of Christ in the Church of San Cristóbal de Rapaz: an example of medieval anti-Jewish iconography in colonial Peru?
The Passion of Christ in the Church of San Cristóbal de Rapaz: an example of medieval anti-Jewish iconography in colonial Peru?
The remote Andean church of San Cristóbal de Rapaz in Peru would seem to be an unlikely place to find anti-Jewish imagery. Amongst the painted murals that adorn the inside of the church since the first half of the eighteenth century, is one representing the flagellation of Christ and another depicting Christ carrying the cross on his way to Calvary. In both of these murals, figures surrounding Jesus Christ are represented wearing unusual headgear. This article analyses the murals and the depiction of the men featured alongside Christ. Comparing the murals with medieval European iconography, it argues that the men are in fact Jews represented wearing the infamous pileus cornutus that was widely used to distinguish Jews in medieval Christian iconography. The article then proceeds to discuss the possible source of inspiration for these Peruvian murals and whether there could be a link with anti-converso sentiments in Peru during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Peru, Antisemitism, Art
1540-5877
392-416
Soyer, Francois
3ccef83c-fad6-46be-b6a0-300d69a30528
Soyer, Francois
3ccef83c-fad6-46be-b6a0-300d69a30528

Soyer, Francois (2017) The Passion of Christ in the Church of San Cristóbal de Rapaz: an example of medieval anti-Jewish iconography in colonial Peru? eHumanista/Conversos. Journal of Iberian Studies, 5, 392-416.

Record type: Article

Abstract

The remote Andean church of San Cristóbal de Rapaz in Peru would seem to be an unlikely place to find anti-Jewish imagery. Amongst the painted murals that adorn the inside of the church since the first half of the eighteenth century, is one representing the flagellation of Christ and another depicting Christ carrying the cross on his way to Calvary. In both of these murals, figures surrounding Jesus Christ are represented wearing unusual headgear. This article analyses the murals and the depiction of the men featured alongside Christ. Comparing the murals with medieval European iconography, it argues that the men are in fact Jews represented wearing the infamous pileus cornutus that was widely used to distinguish Jews in medieval Christian iconography. The article then proceeds to discuss the possible source of inspiration for these Peruvian murals and whether there could be a link with anti-converso sentiments in Peru during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

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Soyer Peru Rapaz Article - Accepted Manuscript
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 15 April 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 14 September 2017
Published date: 14 September 2017
Keywords: Peru, Antisemitism, Art

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 414195
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/414195
ISSN: 1540-5877
PURE UUID: 64e5eb8a-200b-43f4-8d7d-1fa125a53c21

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Date deposited: 18 Sep 2017 16:31
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 16:01

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Contributors

Author: Francois Soyer

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