work rings

Americo Tinoco exalts Mary's humanity as she tenderly proffers her breast for the infant Jesus. Crowned by a halo, she radiates maternal love. Tinoco works in the style of the Cuzco School, painting replicas of colonial religious portraiture found in the city's convents. The work is enhanced by luminous applications of gilt.

Titled "Virgen de la leche" in Spanish.

Cradled in his mother's arms, the infant Jesus reaches a chubby hand to caress her face. The Virgin gazes lovingly at her son with a look of infinite tenderness. Golden haloes surround them in this relief carving by the Ramírez Montalvo Family. They select fragrant cedar wood, applying delicate color with oil paints and finishing the sculpture with bronze leaf.

Titled "Virgen de Caricias" in Spanish, the work has a metal hook at the back to facilitate hanging.

Bells peal out the joyous news on the very first Christmas. Accompanied by shepherds, kings and animals, Mary and Joseph receive the Christ child in a distinctive Andean setting. Twin doves hover just beneath the thatched roof of the stone chapel. Crafted by hand, this enchanting nativity scene comes from Dionisio Rojas.

By Fernando Sayan Polo, this elegant oil on canvas depicts the Holy Family with Mary's cousin Elisabeth and her son, who grew up to became Saint John the Baptist. The Peruvian artist take his inspiration from the 1508 High Renaissance masterpiece by Raphael Sanzio da Urbino. The original painting is known as the "Canigiani Holy Family," named for the family of Florence that purchased it from Raphael. It is now housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.

Sayan Polo brings his own vision to the composition, changing the background and dressing the trio in rich silk brocades. The cherubs, known as putti, are no longer present. Instead, he crowns Joseph with a glittering halo in this reverent work of art.

Titled "Sagrada Familia con la señora Elisabeth" in Spanish.

"This design is inspired by our customs. The egg is one our our symbols at Easter," Anakarem says. Incised by hand into a ceramic sculpture, flowers wear a halo of raindrops. The talented artisan works in the time-honored black pottery tradition of Oaxaca, with techniques learned from her father. The fired clay is burnished to a sheen with a piece of quartz or obsidian. Because the figurine has a rounded bottom, it requires its circular display stand.

By Fernando Sayan Polo, this splendid portrait of the Holy Virgin reveals the influence of Peru's pre-Hispanic art that melds with European styling. His color palette is one favored by the ancient Inca, and the patterns on Mary's gown recall colonial art created by ancient artists. Yet Our Lady's lovely face and halo suggest Spanish paintings. This exquisite portrait is adorned with bronze leaf.

The artist works in the style of Renaissance masterpieces found in the convents and churches of Cuzco. The painting is a copy of a classic portrait, a theme he often repeats. Sayan gives it his own artistic interpretation.

Titled "Virgen Divina" in Spanish.