Career
He was part of the Cuzco School, a colonial movement of indigenous painters educated in the Baroque religious painting tradition of Spain. Basilio Santa Cruz is also known by his Quechua name, Pumaqallo or Pumacallo, and with Diego Quispe Tito, is regarded as one of the most famous painters in the Cuzco School tradition. He lived during the colonial era of the 17th century in the Viceroyalty of Peru.
His primary patron was Bishop Manuel de Mollinedo.
His work combined the parallel influences of Peru and Spain and is characterized by its dynamic composition, lavish decoration, and large scale. Initially art historians believed Basilio Santa Cruz to be a Spanish friar, but historian Jorge Cornejo Bouroncle discovered contracts commissioning paintings from the artist, revealed that he was Basilio de Santa Cruz Pumacallao, with a distinctly Quechua surname, confirming his identity as an Indian.
