Guapulo church
 The sanctuary of Guapulo, which has been a site of
pilgrimage from Quito for many centuries, is situated on a small
plateau among the range of hills that separates Quito from the Tumbaco
valley. It is surrounded by deep gorges, and stands beside the road
taken by Pizarro's expedition that was to discover the Amazon. The
figure of Our Lady' of Guadalupe which is worshipped there was carved
by Diego de Robles, and polychromed by Luis de Rivera.
It was a hermitage at first. Bishop Luis Solís
built a church there in 1596, in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The
present building was begun fifty years later, in 1649, under Brother
Antonio Rodríguez. The church is large and imposing, with a single
nave in the form of a latin cross, 190 feet by 90, and covered by a
great central dome. The facade is of a simple neo-classical style,
with a two-towered belfry. The nave is almost
devoid of ornament, as a result of successive fires in the past, with
the exception of a geometrical design reminiscent of mudéjar art and
the frieze which runs along the walls.
 The pulpit is a indication of past splendors. It
was carved by Menacho in 1716, and is justly considered to be one of
the finest in South America. Once the building of the sanctuary was
completed, Miguel de Santiago and the young artist Nicolás Javier de
Goríbar went to Guápulo to decorate it. There is still a signed
altar-piece by Goríbar in the church. Miguel de Santiago painted a
series of canvasses to frame the altar pieces, as well as a series of
the miracles of the Virgin.
These pictures are of exceptional importance within
the Quito school of art. Santiago painted scenes of the times, with an
atmosphere which is at once magical and tragic. A magical American
realism, tense and dramatic, coupled with wonderful effects, makes
this series of paintings the most vigorous personal expression of the
work of this great painter. |
