Pizarro and Incas Emperors United in a Gallery of Portraits

The end of the Inca empire with its population of over eight million, which collapsed in a few months before the onslaught of a small army of barely 200, is a frequently repeated story. The theory that the Incas saw the white men as divine incarnations has often been put forward to explain their lack of resistance—and everyone knows the fate meted out to the last sovereign, Atahualpa, by Francisco Pizarro (c. 1475-1541). But few can cite the names of any other emperors, even though thirteen labored to make this pre-Columbian civilization one of the most fascinating in the known world. The sale of twelve early 19 th -century paintings offers an opportunity to look at their careers. "The Empire of the Four Quarters" At the time of its apogee in the late 14 th century,…