following in the footsteps of christ: uses of the via crucis in colonial quito

the walls of the franciscan monastery of san diego, in quito, ecuador, were decorated in the first half of the seventeenth century with murals depicting the passion of christ. although the murals, which were whitewashed in the eighteenth century, are severely damaged, it is possible to reconstruct their original iconographic program and ritual function with the aid of extant scenes and of early devotional texts, such as fernando de jesus y larrea’s remedio universal. devotion to the via crucis was a significant aspect of franciscan identity. maria de la antigua’s via crucis, cited in the vida exemplar, is also an invitation to follow in christ’s footsteps. pictures, along with books, presented the biblical narrative as a spatial story, unfolding as the faithful followed in the footsteps of christ. the via crucis is a narrative that takes on a spatial form. that is, the events of the passion of christ unfold just as the faithful follow in his footsteps.