Bolivian art, term for the art in the area of today’s Bolivia. Visit cachedhealth.com for travel to South America.
After the liberation by S. Bolívar and the establishment of the Republic of Bolivia (1825), the visual arts initially continued to be shaped by colonial heritage (Latin American art), before neoclassical and later romantic currents, v. a. from France. Religious painting dominated until the middle of the 19th century , before portrait painting took over this role. The most important portraitists include Manuel Ugalde (* 1817, † 1881) from Ecuador, who lived in Bolivia from 1835, and Antonio Villavicencio (* 1822, † 1888), who painted a number of presidents. Juan de la Cruz Tapia (* around 1830, † 1895) and Saturnino Porcel (* around 1830, † 1892) devoted himself to both portrait and religious painting. History and landscape painting became increasingly important, including. represented by Zenón Iturralde (active at the end of the 19th century) and José García Mesa (* around 1840, † 1905). The latter created the painting “Ejecución de Pedro Domingo Murillo” (“Execution of Pedro Domingo Murillo”, around 1905; La Paz, Museo Casa de Pedro Domingo Murillo). Portraits and still lifes determined the work of Angel Dávalos (* 1871, † 1953), landscapes and genre scenes that of Avelino Nogales (* 1870, † 1930). Melchor María Mercado (* 1815, † 1905) has a special position one who depicted everyday life in numerous watercolors. In 19th century sculpture, which was more closely linked to religious themes, Pedro Enríquez, his wife Julia Sandoval and the indigenous sculptor Feliciano Cantuta dominated.
Painting , which was influenced by European academics up to the early 20th century – the National Art School in La Paz was not established until 1926 – was v. a. Modernized by two artists: The autodidact Arturo Borda (* 1883, † 1953) was particularly versatile, creating realistic genre scenes (e.g. “El yatiri”, “The Shaman”, 1918; private collection), portraits, landscape panoramas (including numerous views from Mount Illimani), even created abstract pictures in his late work. He became known for his satirical-allegorical paintings (including “Crítica de los ismos y triunfo del arte clásico”, “Critique of Isms and Triumph of Classical Art, 1948; private collection). Cecilio Guzmán de Rojas (* 1899, † 1950), who worked with Julio Romero de Torres (* 1874, † 1930) studied in Spain and became the first director of the art school in La Paz, made indigenous heritage the central theme of his art, which was influenced by Art Nouveau and Art Deco (including allegorical compositions such as “El beso del ídolo”, “The Idol’s Kiss”, 1926; “El triunfo de la naturaleza”, “The Triumph of Nature”, 1928) and hieratic images of people (including “Ñusta”, 1931; “Cristo Aymara”, 1939). Indigenismo can also be found in various forms with the painters Jorge de la Reza (* 1901, † 1958), David Crespo Gastelú (* 1901, † 1947) and Gil Coimbra (* 1908, † 1976). Armando Jordan (* 1893, † 1992) devoted himself to anecdotally naive, sometimes humorous genre scenes and the landscape that v. a. for Mario Unzeta (* 1905, † 1984) and Raúl G. Prada (* 1900, † 1989) formed a central theme. A native of Lithuania Juan Rimsa (* 1898, † 1975), 1937-50 worked in Bolivia and an influential teacher, created expressive landscapes and religious images in the graphic itself did v. a. Genaro Ibañez (* 1903, † 1983). The sculpture, which was still influenced by Italy at the beginning of the 20th century, had its main representatives in Urías Rodríguez (* around 1880) and Alejandro Guardia (* 1898, † 1977). Rosario Villagómez de Furoiani created numerous monuments (including those of F. de Orellana in Guayaquil and by General Alfaro in Portoviejo), as well as Emiliano Luján (* 1910, † around 1975).
In the second half of the 20th century, two main tendencies began to emerge in the so-called Generación del ’52 (named after the national revolution), a social direction shaped by the Mexican School, which was influenced by the naive, decorative murals by Alejandro Mario Illanes (* 1903, † 1960) in the Indian country school Warisata (1934), and an abstract tendency. One of the politically oriented realistic artists is the painter Walter Solón Romero (* 1923, † 1999), who was influenced by D. Rivera and who founded the Anteo group (named after Antaios) in Sucre in 1950, which led the brothers Jorge Garrón (* 1930), Gil Imaná Garrón (* 1933, † 2021) and Lorgio Vaca Durán (* 1930) belonged. They created numerous wall paintings and ceramics as well as glass windows. Social revolutionary themes also determined the expressive-satirical, combative murals by Miguel Alandia Pantoja (* 1914, † 1975) in La Paz (which were partially destroyed by later military governments), who was more oriented towards J. C. Orozco and D. Alfaro Siqueiros . Among the painters with a tendency towards abstraction who exhibited together for the first time in 1956, María Luisa Pacheco (* 1918, † 1982) with collage-like, landscape-like compositions made up of crystalline forms and Armando Pacheco (* 1910, † 1983) stand out. Other important abstract painters are Oscar Pantoja (* 1925, † 2009), Rudy Ayoroa (* 1927, † 2003), Alfredo La Placa (* 1929, † 2016) and Alfredo da Silva (* 1935, † 2020). In the 1960s and 1970s, which were overshadowed by the military dictatorships (1964 to 1982), neo-figurative art played a major role. Everyday themes in town and country determine the imagery of Fernando Montes (* 1930, † 2007) and Enrique Arnal (* 1932, † 2016); Social criticism, satire and magic are at Ricardo Pérez Alcalá (* 1939, † 2013) and the brothers Gustavo (* 1934, † 2014) and Raúl Lara Torrez (* 1940, † 2011) in the center; Fernando Rodríguez Casas (* 1946)paints naturalistically with optically fantastic distortions. National themes and pre-Columbian motifs in abstract form can be found in Inés Córdova (* 1927, † 2010), the v. a. known through collages, Luis Zilveti (* 1941) and Gonzalo Ribero (* 1942). In the present, too, time-critical tendencies are in the foreground again and again, for example with Gastón Ugalde (* 1946), Edgar Arnadia (* 1946) and Roberto Valcárcel (* 1951), who also takes up elements of Concept Art, as well as with the graphic artist Max Aruquipa (* 1952) and in painting, installation and video art with Raquel Schwartz (* 1963) and Valia Carvalho (* 1969). Neo-expressive allegorical and figurative elements play a major role in painting, for example with Guiomar Mesa Gisbert (* 1961) and Marcelo Suaznábar (* 1970). The modern sculpture was renewed by Marina Núñez del Prado (* 1910, † 1995), who v. a. Represented women and animals in abstract form in wood or stone. Ted Carrasco (* 1933) works with emblematic, expressive forms in stone derived from the landscape and pre-Columbian architecture, Marcelo Callaú (* 1946) and Francine Secretan (* 1948) from Switzerland stand in the tradition of constructivism with sculptures in wood and steel.