Cantuña
 Cantuña
might be termed the Sixtine Chapel of the art of Quito. It was given
by the Franciscans to the Guild of painters and sculptors, who
delighted in making it a unique repository of artistic jewels. The
doorway opens out on to the atrium o,/ San Francisco, to the south and
almost at the end.
According to a tradition mentioned by the first
historian of Quito, Padre Juan de Velasco, Cantuña was the son of
Hualca, who helped Rumiñahui to hide the treasures of Quito to keep
them out of the reach of Spanish greed. As his master was in dire
straits, Cantuña showed him the treasure, and his master, when he was
about to die, named the Indian as his only inheritor. When he was
asked to explain the secret of his great wealth that he was freely
spending, Cantuña replied that he had made a pact with the devil.
As though to compensate for this pact, Cantuña
paid all the costs of construction of the chapel that bears his
name to this day.
As time passed, it came into the hands of the
Guild of painters and sculptors, and the beautiful sculpture of
St. Luke was installed there the finest polychrome wooden statue
that Quito has produced which can still be seen on the altar. The
present magnificence of the chapel owes much to Bernardo de
Legarda, a member of the Guild from 1762 onwards. |
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 The central altar piece is his work. His genius
allowed him to conceive, build and carve his works, and Legarda filled
every available space from the floor to the vault itself, framing his
work with pillars that supported a great arch, a niche where a
crucifixion scene could be placed, which he also carved himself. He
carved the columns, the draperies, frieze, cornice, arches and purely
decorative aspects with a whimsical beauty, and placed wonderful
statues on shelves and pedestals. He completed the dazzling effect by
surrounding the central niche with a frame of mirrors and of silver.
The pulpit is another of Legarda's masterpieces. And there is a
magnificent work by Caspicara in Cantuña as well: the figure of the
wounds of St. Francis, a finely proportioned work, full of devotion,
with a truly admirable expression on the face of the saint, lost in
the depths of pain and of understanding. No less remarkable is the
figure of St. Peter of Alcantara |
