Civil Society III - Incan Capital Painting

Subject: Provincial Judicial Court of Azuay, Cuenca, Ecuador Description: This work depicts a column capital within the Judicial Court designed by Juan Bautista Stiehle as the first university in Cuenca. The column is a combination of classical architectural traditions with strong influence from local craftsmen, materials, and Incan motifs. The scrollwork at the corners identifies this column as being of the Ionic order but the styling and articulation is a departure from Greek and Roman neoclassical models. This capital merges the strength and ingenuity of local culture with European traditions and Beaux-Arts education. The use of local red marble and blue-gray igneous stone in combination with ochre paint references the Ecuadorian tricolor flag, further reinforcing this building as a unique product of its place. This work is one of several works that represent the Judicial Court that were completed with the intention that they can be paired up for display as a diptych or triptych. Process: Plein-air drawing, painted in studio.