For this hauntingly beautiful painting, Theus turns his brush to the origins of the Inca empire. Capac y Mama Ocllo were said to have founded the great Andean civilization. Married to their son, Sinchi Roca, Mamacoca was much loved. When she died, Sinchi Roca ordered a stone monument, or huaca,to be built to her memory. One day, a bush began growing there, eventually becoming a coca tree. The Inca chewed the leaves, but commoners were forbidden to use them. Working in a palette of blues, the Peruvian artist adds accents in bright jewel colors as he depicts Mamacoca arising from the leaves. Titled Mamacoca in Quechua.
