Tiny human figures, animals from the highlands, images of Christian saints and pre-columbian gods, Stara, mountains and lakes are just some of the elements found in the colorful World portrayed by the cajón or retablo de San Marcos.

This art form, brought over from Spain, dates back to the dawn of western civilization and was preceded by Roman portable images made up of three slabs that closed over each other. In the rest of Europe, this art form was known by the name of frontpieces, giving away to the monumental friezes that featured in church altars between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. The closest resemblance to the Peruvian retablo is the Caja de Santo, a sort of portable altar used in Spain as part of the paraphernalia of Catholic rituals.

The Ayacucho artisans saw the portable altars as the perfect means to bring together two religious traditions -their own and Catholicism imposed by Spain- without arousing suspicion amongst colonial authorities bent on stamping out pagan idols. The retablo features two levels: the upper level, which portrays the Heavens, with saints and sacred Andean beasts, and the lower world, portraying the world down on Earth.

These retablos were originally limited to the area dominated by Ayacucho shepherds and peasant farmers. And in fact the Ayacucho artisans are the ones to have kept alive this tradition, that is such a vital part of Peruvian imaginery. The best-known craftsmen who make retablos include the late Joaquín López Antay, Florentino Jiménez and Jesus Urbano.

These three men gave rise to three schools or trends of the retablo: one which features a magical-religious current, another that focuses on regional customs and another with historic and realistic content. Today, styles and themes have multiplied as Cusco emerges as yet another major retablo production center.