Francisco Tito Yupanqui
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Francisco Tito Yupanqui | |
|---|---|
 Statue of Tito Yupanqui in Copacabana | |
| Born | 1550 |
| Died | 1616 (65-66) |
| Occupation | Sculptor |
| Known for | Sculpture, wood-carving, Marian images |
| Notable work | Virgen de Copacabana (1583) |
Francisco Tito Yupanqui (1550–1616) was an indigenous sculptor of the Viceroyalty of Peru. He sculptured renowned Roman Catholic wood statues such as the Blessed Virgin Mary in what is now Bolivia, known as Our Lady of Candles (also known as Our Lady of Copacabana), one of the most celebrated Marian images located at Lake Titicaca in Bolivia.
Yupanqui was born in Copacabana of Tola and Francisco Tito Yupanqui Sr. His family was Anansayas, or descendants of Quechua people who relocated to Copacabana with the Inca.[1] He came from a family recently converted to Roman Catholicism by the Dominican priests but like many of the time, retained some of the Aymara religious beliefs.
Our Lady of Copacabana
Under the influence of the Dominicans, Yupanqui's monotheistic beliefs increased while studying religion, and they started admiring the works of European religious art. Legend has it that one night, a beautiful woman carrying in her arms a child appeared in the fourth month of the Indian calendar and was charged with the task of making the image. This image later became known as Nuestra Senora de Virgen de la Candelaria or Our Virgin Lady of the Candles. Father Antonio Montoro, who was the presiding parish priest at the time insisted that the image of the virgin be likened to European faces, but Yupanqui insisted that the face of the statue be likened to the native people of Bolivia.
