CHICAGO.- The emergence of a distinctive artistic tradition following the 16th-century Spanish invasion of South America will be explored in “Reverence Renewed: Colonial Andean Art from the Thoma Collection,” which opens January 15 at the DePaul University Art Museum.

The exhibition, which runs through March 20, features 40 extraordinary paintings from the collection of Wilmette residents Marilynn and Carl Thoma, as well as Latin American silverwork from the same period from the collection of Richard and Roberta Huber of New York City. It will highlight the diversity and opulence of the artwork from the unique historical landscape of the Spanish Empire in South America between the 16th and 19th centuries.

The show debuts with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 15 at the museum. The exhibition will focus on three aspects of these opulent works: the prominence of the Virgin Mary and her incorporation into the South American landscape; the development of unique styles of representation by Andean artists, most notably those working in the old Incan capital of Cuzco, Peru; and the ways that the colonial environment stimulated the emergence of a distinctive set of subject matters and iconographies.

Curator of the exhibition is Delia Cosentino, associate professor of art history and architecture at DePaul and a specialist in colonial Latin America. “The Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors of South America were accompanied by missionaries intent on converting local populations to Christianity, which included building and decorating churches based on European prototypes to varying degrees. While much inspiration came from the art and architecture of Italy, Spain and Flanders, the South American examples were products of their colonial environment, indeed often made by native and mixed-blood artists who infused the works with their own religious and broader cultural values,” Cosentino said.

“Similarly, the scale and exuberance of the works not only evoke Baroque traditions of Europe, but also reflect the complex social and economic Andean situation where a growing elite class accumulated the kind of wealth from local resources – like silver – that allowed for such luxurious expression,” she added.

Museum Director Louise Lincoln said of the exhibition: “Many images in the Thoma collection are literally dazzling in their surfaces and palette, and we expect that their visual appeal will generate curiosity and encourage visitors to delve more deeply into their history and meaning.”