he cultural history of South America is inextricably linked with the Society of Jesus. Ever since the first missionaries arrived in Peru in 1568, Jesuit missions have served as vital centers for the arts throughout the continent. Working under Jesuit auspices, Amerindian artists in places such as Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil produced some of the most original and moving artworks ever to come out of colonial Latin America.

Many of these statues and paintings combine Catholic imagery with iconography and styles derived from pre-Columbian traditions. And at the famous missions or "reductions" of Paraguay, Jesuits and Guaraní Indians worked together to erect some of the most magnificent churches in the western hemisphere.

PARAGUAY

The Last Judgment, detail

The Indian artists at the Santa Rosa mission derived much inspiration for their work from engravings Jesuit missionaries brought from Europe.

mural painting, early 18th century Loreto Chapel, Santa Rosa

ECUADOR

The Vision of St. Francis Borgia, with Sts. Aloysius Gonzaga and Stanislaus Kostka

Three Jesuit saints are depicted in this painting.

Antonio Salas, oil on canvas, ca. 1827, Quito courtesy Alex Wengraf Ltd., London www.wengraf.com

ARGENTINA

This church is where the greatest Jesuit composer of the reductions, Domenico Zipoli, worked and died. Estancia Church, Santa Catalina 18th century

PARAGUAY

The Virgin of the Assumption

In colonial times, images of the Virgin like this one were an important focus for pilgrimages and local devotions, which sometimes merged with pre-Columbian religious traditions.

Wood, gold, and poly-chrome, ca. 1650 -1700 Museo de San Ignacio, San Ignacio