ABSTRACT
In 1785, the Bishop of Trujillo, Baltasar Martínez Compañón decided to record a complete history of the province of Trujillo del Perú based on his observations about the inhabitants, cultural practices, customs, architecture, indigenous antiquities and natural history of the provinces. The result was a nine-volume manuscript composed only of watercolour illustrations, entitled Truxillo del Perú. An index that listed the titles and specific number of each illustration accompanied each volume. The illustrations were based on the observations he had made while serving as a bishop in Trujillo since 1779. Martínez Compañón decided to send the manuscript, which he referred to as an ‘obra gráfica’, to the king and not necessarily to the Council of Indies or to church authorities. What is most fascinating about this historia is the fact that it did not include any narrative about what was depicted. Truxillo del Perú was strictly a visual text considered by Martínez Compañón himself to be a type of ‘Museo Histórico, Ficico, Político y Moral del Obpdo. De Truxillo del Perú’. 1
