Archangel Raphael

Full-length paintings of archangels based on European prints and medieval Apocryphal sources are recorded in the inventories of Spanish American collectors of various backgrounds. According to the 1797 inventory of the estate of a wealthy Aymara woman, María Angela Cachicatari, the main room of her primary residence in Juli included twenty-five paintings, six of which were of “angels.” Images of archangels were displayed high on the walls of elite interiors (see illustration), suggesting that their purpose was more decorative than devotional. This painting on burlap was most likely produced on speculation for a growing art market rather than commissioned.