Atahualpa, Fourteenth Inca, 1 of 14 Portraits of Inca Kings
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
The Inca had no pictorial portraiture tradition before the conquest. Soon after European contact, however, series of Inca kings painted by local artists in European portrait styles started to appear in indigenous and Creole inventories. This bust-length portrait series is based on a 1615 Spanish engraving (see illustration).
Caption
Unknown Artist; Peruvian. Atahualpa, Fourteenth Inca, 1 of 14 Portraits of Inca Kings, Probably mid–18th century. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 21 3/4in. (60 x 55.2cm) frame: 29 1/8 x 27 5/16 x 2 13/16 in. (74 x 69.4 x 7.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, Marie Bernice Bitzer Fund, Frank L. Babbott Fund, gift of The Roebling Society and the American Art Council, purchased with funds given by an anonymous donor, Maureen and Marshall Cogan, Karen B. Cohen, Georgia and Michael deHavenon, Harry Kahn, Alastair B. Martin, Ted and Connie Roosevelt, Frieda and Milton F. Rosenthal, Sol Schreiber in memory of Ann Schreiber, Joanne Witty and Eugene Keilin, Thomas L. Pulling, Roy J. Zuckerberg, Kitty and Herbert Glantz, Ellen and Leonard L. Milberg, Paul and Thérèse Bernbach, Emma and J. A. Lewis, Florence R. Kingdon, 1995.29.14. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Culture
Title
Atahualpa, Fourteenth Inca, 1 of 14 Portraits of Inca Kings
Date
Probably mid–18th century
Period
Colonial Period
Geography
Place made: Peru
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
23 5/8 x 21 3/4in. (60 x 55.2cm) frame: 29 1/8 x 27 5/16 x 2 13/16 in. (74 x 69.4 x 7.1 cm)
Inscriptions
Inscribed on roundel: "el tirano Bastardo, Atahualpa,"
Credit Line
Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, Marie Bernice Bitzer Fund, Frank L. Babbott Fund, gift of The Roebling Society and the American Art Council, purchased with funds given by an anonymous donor, Maureen and Marshall Cogan, Karen B. Cohen, Georgia and Michael deHavenon, Harry Kahn, Alastair B. Martin, Ted and Connie Roosevelt, Frieda and Milton F. Rosenthal, Sol Schreiber in memory of Ann Schreiber, Joanne Witty and Eugene Keilin, Thomas L. Pulling, Roy J. Zuckerberg, Kitty and Herbert Glantz, Ellen and Leonard L. Milberg, Paul and Thérèse Bernbach, Emma and J. A. Lewis, Florence R. Kingdon
Accession Number
1995.29.14
Frequent Art Questions
Who are they?
This series of 14 bust-length portraits represents historical Inca kings. Their names and positions in the line of royal succession are inscribed on the decorative roundels around each portrait.I was wondering if these chiefs are real historical figures?
Yes, they are. This series of 14 bust-length portraits represents historical Inca kings.The earliest known Inca portraits were painted in Cuzco, the former capital of the Inca empire in the Peruvian Andes, as a kind of historical record. Painted for a local market, these portraits helped people to trace their lineage to the pre-Hispanic past. In Cuzco, they were visible manifestations, albeit in European form, of the ancestors who originally built the city. These portraits helped to maintain a historical identity of an idealized past existing prior to the Spanish Conquest.In order to legitimize claims to noble lineage in the viceroyalty of Peru, members of the Inca elite often conspicuously displayed in their homes Europeanized portraits of their ancestors, the fourteen ancient Andean rulers.Any idea if they're related or if they were elected by people? And also what time period did they rule?Yes, they were related. For example: Sinchi Roca, Second Inca King was the son and successor of Manco Cápac and the father of Lloque Yupanqui, the third Inca King. I do not believe they were elected by the people. The first Inca King, Manco Capac ruled from 1500-1545. They all ruled for an average of 30 years.What do these works convey about the Incas?
These paintings were meant to convey a sense of pride in Inca heritage. They were created in the Spanish colonial period in the city of Cuzco, which had been the capital of the Inca Empire. This set would have belonged to an indigenous elite family.The medium of oil painting, however, illustrates a blending of cultures in colonial Peru. The technique was something the Inca adopter from the European invaders, but that quickly became very popular.
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