The Blue Astronomer I and II - The Conquistador

Standing in the shadows, alongside the widow Marcelo de Ulloa is a man dressed in black. His identity is uncertain, he might be Don Diego Ruz de Azcoma. I have cast him as a conquistador, a Spanish explorer-soldier. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond  Europe, opening trade routes and colonising territory for Spain.

In the distance is the land he has helped colonise and upon which he sets the butt of his rifle. A snake wrapped around his arm opens its fangs about to prey upon the frog the conquistador offers up as a sacrifice to assuage the snake’s desire.