Unidentified artist, active in Cuzco, Peru.
Our Lady of Bethlehem with a Male Donor, 18th century.
Carl and Marilynn Thoma Collection.
Andean Art in the Spanish Empire at ARTIC Chicago ‘A Voyage to South America: Andean Art in the Spanish Empire’ – Paintings from 17th through 19th century South America at the Art Institute of Chicago. January 12, 2015 – February 21, 2016.]]>
Source: Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago prresents an exciting long-term installation that showcases, for the first time in the museum’s history, paintings from 17th through 19th century South America, when much of the continent was under Spanish rule.
The new installation, among other projects, realizes the Art Institute’s heightened focus on expanding its Latin American holdings and related programs. While the museum has a long tradition of collecting and displaying works from the pre- Hispanic cultures of Latin America, this installation is the first from the Viceregal period.
The installation provides an introduction to the practice of art and the conditions of life of artists and patrons who lived in the Andean region of South America during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The works on display include representations of identified sitters, signal works by important South American artists, devotional paintings that include historical figures, and maps of the region. Together, they bring to life the culture and artistic production in the region as European conventions combined with indigenous traditions.
“A Voyage to South America” examines the themes of exploration and discovery. The biography of Antonio de Ulloa (1716–95), a Spanish naval officer and cartographer who traveled to South America in the 1730s and 1740s, serves as a metaphorical guide to the group of works assembled. The paintings help illustrate Ulloa’s path through much of what is today Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, providing specific artistic examples of the cultural phenomena he witnessed.
Related content
Onchi Koshiro: The Abstract Prints – Art Institute of Chicago (exhibition, 2014)
Follow us on:
