Antonio MARRERO ALBERTO

Canary Islands in Andean brushes: insular fantasies in the pictorial cycle of Saint Didacus of Alcalá, 1705-1715 (Colonial Museum of Santiago, Chile)

Canarias en pinceles andinos: fantasías insulares en el ciclo pictórico de San Diego de Alcalá, 1705-1715 (Museo Colonial de Santiago de Chile)

Published in Languages and Cultures in Tradition

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This research examines seven paintings from the Dieguine cycle preserved at the Colonial Museum of Santiago de Chile, attributed to the circle of the Nolasco and Lucas García (1705–1715). It focuses on the representation of the saint’s stay on the island of Fuerteventura, constructing a visual imaginary of the Canary Islands from the perspective of Andean viceregal workshops. Through iconographic and iconological analysis, the study reveals idealized landscapes, fictitious architectures, symbolic elements, and aboriginal figures reinterpreted according to European and American models. Rather than seeking ethnographic or geographic accuracy, these images contribute to the creation of an “insular fantasy” that redefines the Canary Islands as a strategic enclave between Europe and the Americas.