IN STEREO

Well, this is one of the most emblematic works of the museum, like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. For Potosí, The Virgin of the Mountain is the synthesis of the history of this city, told graphically. Being a symbolic, historical, syncretic painting of Potosí, it is a synthesis of everything, of a past and a future also. In fact, it is a syncretism marked by the Catholic Church: the Spaniards – or the conquerors who were Spanish, Portuguese, English, but more Spanish than anything else – they brought things with them. It is not just a conquest of land and wealth. It brings something spiritual with it. And from that spiritual conquest is an important element in the church that is called the Virgin Mary. And Virgin Mary is equal to Mother Earth – they are goddesses of fertility who are fused by similar or comparative elements, let’s say.

Then syncretism arises: the mixture of different elements that have a certain relation. Mary equals Pachamama. It is a Mestizo Baroque: there are these elements of cultures, then it is a mixture, embodied in beliefs and traditions that also identify a very strong power situation that is marked by an earthly power, and the same with a celestial power. So there is the church, there are the emperors, but above are all the parts of God, the holy trinity protecting the mountain, in which the holy mother of Jesus is immersed. It is fertile like the Mother Earth. In addition to having Mother Earth, the sun and moon are elements of pre-Hispanic deities. This is what was imposed by conquerors and what was held by the conquered. So it is an expression that can speak many things – many stories, many traditions – in a single picture. – Seila