Peru at the National Geographic Society

For those of you who missed the exhibit when it was shown at Barcelona's Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya last summer, or at Madrid's Biblioteca Nacional over last winter, you can catch it (actually not all of it, but a little less than half of it, I was told) at Washington's National Geographic Society through May. It is called "Peru: Native and Viceregal" and, in spite of the clumsy title (which looks just as clumsy in Catalan and in Spanish), it is worth looking at.

It is a showcase of Peruvian art and crafts from pre-Inca time through the Spanish colonial period. Nothing later.

I went through the exhibit backwards. (If you asked me why, I would tell you that they installed it backwards, but that can't be right, can it?)

The art from colonial Peru is mainly large scale religious painting. And it has its own style. What is it? Well, the colors are distinctive, from which I assume that the dyes used to make the paints in 15th through 18th century Peru were not the same ones they were using in Europe. Particularly, the red dyes. Then, some of the scenes are different, as they mix Indian and Eurochristian (my made up word) material. Then, for some reason, there seems to be a general flatness to the paintings; there is little perspective. Then there are the frames, generally, but not always of rough, painted wood, and which are as interesting as the paintings. The quality of the paintings varies.

The pre-colonial art is more useful and craft oriented, pottery, silver and the like. Some of it is of notable quality. No question about it.

Highlights for me?

First, two extraordinary sculptures, each larger (much larger) than life. One is a silver pelican, almost filigree in some ways, probably 8 feet tall. The other, an 18th century "Archer of Death" by a sculptur named Baltazar Gavilan. A skeleton, wrapped in a skin-tight shroud, holding a bow and arrow.

Then, there is a large portrait of Jesus, with three heads, each identical, growing from each other, representing the Trinity. Considered blasphemous in Europe, this was apparently not a rare depiction in Peru.

Fourth, the religious painting in general, taken as a whole. I did not count the paintings; I would guess there are about 30. (I will go back and check myself).

Fifth, the gold Inca jewelry. Some pieces (breastplates) having more gold than you will find in a standard high class jewelry store. And the designs on the pottery and silver sculptre, including the animal and erotic pieces. (The erotic pieces in the exhibit are a bit toned down, from the ones I saw in the museum in Lima many years ago. American cable tv has nothing on what was being produced back then.)

And finally, the older pieces, many of which were from Nazca.

What didn't we get? Apparently, we did not get two large depictions of Holy Week Processions. We didn't get some of the fabrics (I remember the ancient Nazca fabrics for sale in a small commercial gallery in Santa Fe, which cost about the same as a Rolls Royce).

How do I know what we didn't get? I know in part because I plunked down $5 for an abbrieviated catalogue. The hard cover catalogue is only $30, I think, which is cheap these days. I didn't look at it closely, but since the museum is only a block from my office, I guess I could go back and see.

I would hope that some of you could find your way to see this exhibit, and post your comments. Now that posting is a snap.