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Peruvian colonial architecture developed in theViceroyalty of Peru between the 16th and 19th centuries. It was characterized by the importation and adaptation ofEuropean architectural styles to Peru, yielding original architecture.
Academia views the Spanish architectural and religious takeover either as complete and swift, or meaningfully influenced by indigenous traditions.[1]
The use of construction systems such as thequincha and ornamentations fromAndean iconography give Peruvian viceroyal architecture an identity.
The early days of theViceroyalty featured theRenaissance style, which had evolved inEurope following theItalian Renaissance. This style was characterized by the use of ornaments and watermarks that present architectural lines like chiseled works of silver, hence the nameplateresque. Art blendsGothic,Romanesque andArabic styles from the 16th to mid-17th century. This style survives in the Lima facades of theCathedral of Lima, theCasa de Pilatos, and (inAyacucho) the facades of the churches of San Francisco and La Merced.
TheBaroque was distinguished by heavy ornamentation, of predominantly curved lines, giving an aspect of free movement. Predominant decorative elements include modifiedcolumns,pilasters,cornices classical forms. The Greek columns lose their purity due to the addition of spiraling, thick snakes.
A characteristic example is therustication that appears on the walls of theMonastery of San Francisco, Lima. This style prevailed from the middle of the 17th to the late 18th century. Representative examples are found inLima, theTorre Tagle Palace, and the churches of San Francisco and San Marcelo. InCuzco theCathedral of Cuzco (Andean Baroque), the churches ofSanto Domingo andSan Sebastián reflect this tradition. InArequipa theChurch of La Compañía is Baroque.
During the late seventeenth and eighteenth century in the southern Andes (SouthernPeru andBolivia) a style developed that blended European Baroque with indigenous (Inca,Aymara) features such as thekantuta flower and Inkamaskaypacha crown as well as native flora and fauna (Arequipa papayasand the Chiguanco thrush). It was created by primarily by indigenous sculptors, sometimes inspired by textile patterns. The new style appeared primarily on the stone carved facades of churches and palaces, first inArequipa and later aroundLake Titicaca, Oruro andChile. It was one of the most vigorous combinations of styles in all of colonial Latin America. The most important buildings are the Church of La Compañía andPuno Cathedral.[2]
It was the most ornateBaroque and distinguished by the use of complicated and whimsical ornaments exaggerated, his advocate was a Spanish architect namedJosé de Churriguera. These are magnificent examples of this style in Lima the facade of churches ofNuestra Señora de la Merced andSan Agustín.
In the 18th century, the French Bourbon dynasty spread to Spain this style, characterized by non-roundedbalconies, the decrease of ornaments on columns (these are less twisted).
Examples ofrococo include theQuinta de Presa, the Casa de Larriva (rococo facade butGranadian), theCasa de las Trece Monedas (rococo facade Lima), theOsambela House andPaseo de Aguas, all located in Lima.
In the late 18th and early 19th century came the style calledneoclassical, which was characterized by the return of the classic styles ofGreco-Roman architecture (using Romanesque columns with Corinthian capitals and without ornamentation, straight lines and simplicity in them, in addition to a triangular frontispiece).
Examples of this style are thealtar and the towers of theCathedral of Lima, the facade of theBasilica and Convent of San Pedro, the main altar of theBasilica and Convent of San Francisco, pilasters of theOsambela House, the facade ofFort Santa Catalina andPresbyter Matías Maestro Cemetery.
