The Ayacucho “Retablo” is one of the most recognized expressions of art and an example of the high level of mastery that have reached the artisans of Ayacucho, in Peru.
The Spanish tradition of having portable altars and “nativity scenes”, was very well received in the Andean world. These boxes contained saints and other sacred effigies and were used to care for the dwellings and the travelers who took them with them. In the 1940s, Ayacucho artists and Lima intellectuals of the indigenous movement encouraged the revival of this art. The Andean popular artist takes care of transmitting his techniques and secrets, restricting the transmission of them to his descendants and a few disciples, who must remain years inside the workshop in order to fully master all the techniques. The altarpiece takes a lot of work and one of the basic aspects is the preparation of the plaster for molding the figures. Today the place these nativities in eggs, pomegranates, cardboard boxes and stars.