Inventing Indigenism: Francisco Laso's Image of Modern Peru (The William & Bettye Nowlin Series)

One of the outstanding painters of the nineteenth century, Francisco Laso (1823–1869) set out to give visual form to modern Peru. His solemn and still paintings of indigenous subjects were part of a larger project, spurred by writers and intellectuals actively crafting a nation in the aftermath of independence from Spain. In this book, at once an innovative account of modern indigenism and the first major monograph on Laso, Natalia Majluf explores the rise of the image of the Indian in literature and visual culture. Reading Laso’s works through a broad range of sources, Majluf traces a decisive break in a long history of representations of indigenous peoples that began with the Spanish conquest. She ties this transformation to the modern concept of culture, which redefined both the artistic field and the notion of indigeneity. As an abstraction produced through indigenist discourse, an icon of authenticity, and a densely racialized cultural construct, the Indian would emerge as a central symbol of modern Andean nationalisms. __Inventing Indigenism__ brings the work and influence of this extraordinary painter to the forefront as it offers a broad perspective on the dynamics of art and visual culture in nineteenth-century Latin America. 2023 ALAA Book Award, Association for Latin American Art/Arvey Foundation A fascinating account of the modern reinvention of the image of the Indian in nineteenth-century literature and visual culture, seen through the work of Peruvian painter Francisco Laso. One of the outstanding painters of the nineteenth century, Francisco Laso (18231869) set out to give visual form to modern Peru. His solemn and still paintings of indigenous subjects were part of a larger project, spurred by writers and intellectuals actively crafting a nation in the aftermath of independence from Spain. In this book, at once an innovative account of modern indigenism and the first major monograph on Laso, Natalia Majluf explores the rise of the image of the Indian in literature and visual culture. Reading Lasos works through a broad range of sources, Majluf traces a decisive break in a long history of representations of indigenous peoples that began with the Spanish conquest. She ties this transformation to the modern concept of culture, which redefined both the artistic field and the notion of indigeneity. As an abstraction produced through indigenist discourse, an icon of authenticity, and a densely racialized cultural construct, the Indian would emerge as a central symbol of modern Andean nationalisms. Inventing Indigenism brings the work and influence of this extraordinary painter to the forefront as it offers a broad perspective on the dynamics of art and visual culture in nineteenth-century Latin America. "The Peruvian painter Francisco Laso (1823-69) was born to an aristocratic Creole family. After studying painting in Europe, he returned to Peru and began to focus on portraiture and religious paintings. Over time, he increasingly grew interested in portraying the lives of everyday people rather than the ruling elite class. In addition, he began to depict people of indigenous and African descent, often in traditional dress, as in the cases of the Quechua and Aymara people he painted. His solemn and still studies serve to underscore a shift in depicting indigenous peoples as servants or slaves to representing a noble and lost figure in the Peruvian imagination. Laso's work was part of a broader transformation among nineteenth-century Peruvian painters that influenced writers and intellectuals, who were actively crafting a new national identity in the aftermath of independence from Spain. These images and the ideas they represented continued to shape Peruvian national identity even as the country began to implement modernization programs in the early twentieth century. Natalia Majluf contextualizes Laso's corpus of work within the longer visual culture rooted in the Enlightenment of the late eighteenth century and through portraits of indigenous peoples in the early twentieth century"-- Provided by publisher