Iconography in the Mural Paintings of the Santa Catalina Convent as a Symbolic Element in Cusco's Viceroyal Architecture

Abstract

[EN] This study examines the mural paintings of the Chapter House of the Monastery of Santa Catalina in Cusco within the context of Andean colonial architecture, aiming to analyze their iconography as a symbolic and theological resource. A qualitative methodology was employed, based on iconographic analysis according to Erwin Panofsky's theory, complemented by documentary review, photographic recording, and thematic categorization of the pictorial elements. The results reveal that the paintings not only decorate but also structure a visual theological discourse representing the spiritual transition of the soul from the mundane to the divine through scenes such as penance, ascetic life, redemption, and glorification. This mural narrative, primarily directed at the female religious community of the convent, integrates European and indigenous motifs, hagiographical figures, Trinitarian allegories, and ornamental symbolism that reinforces the spirituality of the monastic space. It is concluded that these representations do not solely serve catechetical purposes but configure a symbolic architecture of contemplation and spiritual formation that visually articulates the doctrinal principles of the Christian tradition through a pictorial language coherent with Andean Baroque.