Visual Communication and Evangelizing Art in the Temple of San Francisco of La Paz (Bolivia)

Abstract

The temple of San Francisco de La Paz is one of the best examples of the mestizo baroque style in Bolivia. The richness of the interior of the temple contributes to creating a theatrical and symbolic space, intending to evangelize and transmit the new values of the Catholic faith, through its iconographic programme. Our analysis highlights the differentiation of interior space using altarpiece programmes, thus evidencing how interior architecture is used for communication purposes. We conclude that interior space is transformed for evangelizing purposes.

Keywords

• San Francisco de La Paz
• mestizo baroque
• symbolic space
• altarpiece discourse