Art and Architecture

Culture and Arts, Info.

By Caroline Bennett

The arts have played a prominent role in Peruvian history and culture, coloring the nation with a wide variety of styles that can be seen across its regions in everything from literature and architecture, to painting, crafts, and dance.

While Spanish influence cannot be denied, the indigenous heritage of Peru is one of the richest in South America, with traces of Inca tradition prominent throughout Peruvian art and culture. Art forms from Architecture to handicrafts are a unique fusion of Spanish and Native American forms. Descendents of the Quechua and Aymará peoples who populate much of the Andean highlands have preserved and emulate the folklore and traditions of their ancestors, while other regions have incorporated these customs into modern designs, making for a vibrant melding of styles throughout Peru's artistic history and in contemporary works.

Painting and Sculpture

Spanish colonization brought European art into the new world, and influence spread rapidly throughout Peru as religious paintings were used to teach Christianity. By the 17th century, native artists began melding the imported art with local tradition and style, leading to the Peruvian-Euro influenced Cusco School of the 17th and 18th centuries. The Cusco School was the largest movement in Peru's art history, made up of mestizo painters and sculptors who produced countless depictions of religious figures adorned in gold. Artists of the era were largely influenced by Spanish and Late Gothic works.

During the 19th century, artists began following the lead of the Mexican muralists, leading into a Peruvian movement incorporating Andean accents and depicting the life and hardships of the nation's indigenous people. An indigenous movement led by painter José Sabogal (1888-1956) in the 20th century sought to integrate pre-Columbian influence and Peruvian style and tradition. Works largely depicted indigenous women and incorporated ancient motifs from weavings and pottery. By the mid 20th century, artists began experimenting with abstract art, though works today still maintain pre-Columbian and Peruvian motifs.

Architecture

While much of Peruvian architecture is of Creole style- blending Spanish and indigenous styles- there is also a prominent Moorish influence, brought in from North Africa to Spain, and then into the Americas. Of course Peru's proud array of ruins- from Machu Pichu to Moche- present a very real form of pre-conquest art, not to be ignored as part of the nation’s architectural style.

Crafts

Peru is a haven for folk art and high quality handcrafts, boasting one of the largest varieties of arts and crafts in the world, which can be found across the nation. Folk art is not only a fundamental activity for the cultural identity of Peru, but a way of life for many communities. A diverse array of brightly colored textiles—particularly from the highlands in Ayacucho and Huancayo—depict local Andean and coastal life, with large graphic pre-Hispanic shapes of animals and indigenous life, influenced by forms brought over by the Spanish. Pottery, woodwork, woven baskets, worked gold and silver jewelry, and hand-tooled leather goods are also prevalent across the nation. Passion comes through the imagery and threads of works made by a culture that communicates mainly through art. The Paracas region is renowned for its long tradition of unique weavings.