Native Peruvian art is among America's finest. It is expressed through music, dance, food,
architecture, paintings, sculpture, carving, textiles, crafts in silver and others.
Craftsmanship, in its variety of forms and styles, is the inheritance of thousands of years of Peruvian cultures which has been successfully integrated into the Spanish colonial transition.
Ancient art is kept alive through generations and has come down through many, many artists over the entire geographic extension of Peru. Styles and forms vary from region to region, which makes it all the more interesting.
Ceramics, silver, imagery, textiles woven from animal or vegetable fibers, sculpture, wood carving, stone and leather and paintings make up the principle expressions of popular art forms.
Upon visiting Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancayo or
Puno in the Andean highlands, one can appreciate the styles and colors of ceramics particular to each region, and see how these differ from the Chulucanas ceramics found on the northern coast. Religious motifs as well as life in the country and figures of natives, stand out. The photo shows the work of
Víctor Chávez Quispe, artist from Ayacucho.
Imagery find their greatest exponents in Cusco; the work of the Mendívil family is known around the world and many of their pieces can be found on display in important museums worldwide. Juana
Mendívil, winner of the Great ?Amauta? (master) Award for the year 2000, is the daughter of Hilario
Mendívil, the ?San Blas imagery maker?. The Mendívil workshop may be visited in the
San Blas neighborhood in Cusco.
Textiles are hand-woven with cotton or alpaca, llama or sheep's wool; natural dyes are used, many of which have been passed down from the Inca civilization, such as
sauco (a kind of blueberry), molle, airampo, nogal or cochinilla. The tapestries from San Pedro de
Cajas, blankets from Huancayo and rugs from Cusco are extraordinary examples. In the photograph, the looms of Faustino Maldonado and Agripina Lazo and sons from
Huancayo.
Silver is best expressed in filigree, handmade jewelry, earrings, brooches, bracelets and animal figures. In the photograph, Oscar San Miguel Alvarez, National Handicrafts Award for 1998 in the category of crafted silver, along with some of his work.
Carvings use materials native to the regions, such as renaco roots in the Pucallpa jungle, Huamanga stone (a kind of alabaster) in Ayacucho with
filigree detail, stone carved and painted in Muruhuay, Tarma, white ashlar, a volcanic
stone, in Arequipa and wood found in many parts of Peru. ?Retablos?, or triptychs
frames containing images, are typical of Ayacucho.
Florentino Jiménez Toma from Ayacucho is an extraordinary exponent of the ?retablo?; the quality and beauty of his work reaches to the soul itself. Another specialist in this art form from Ayacucho is Benjamín Pizarro.
From July 1 to July 8, 2001, more than 1,500 Peruvian artists gathered at the handicrafts fair at the modern Jockey Plaza Shopping Center in
Lima. We were there with Orlando Córdova, painter from the city of
Iquitos, Pamela Berrocal, who specializes in leather masks, painters Luis Paredes and Gustavo Puente. We also had the opportunity to appreciate
furniture made by Eduardo Asís in carved leather.
When you visit Peru, you will have the chance to contact these artists directly in their workshops. If it's shopping you're looking for, you will find numerous stands and permanent exhibit sites in Lima on Petit Thouars Street in
Miraflores, where exponents of art forms from all parts of Peru display their work.
Photo Gallery