CUZCO SCHOOL OF THE 18TH CENTURY Archangel Michael Oil on canvas, 75X57 cm The canvas bears witness to the influence of European painting in South America and particularly in Peru. The Spanish conquest, in fact, triggered a renewal of artistic expression and the so-called 'Cuzco School' was born, where the Incas had their capital. After the fall of the Inca Empire at the hands of the Conquistadores, for the following decades and centuries, an art developed in which indigenous elements were combined with European ones. In this wake lies this 17th-century canvas, in which the rich presence of pure gold betrays the strong Spanish influence, giving it light and warmth, and in which the artist has grappled with a theme that has shaped not only the Christian faith, but the entire Western culture, of which it has since become a part.