In 1923, Sabogal spent six months in Mexico to delve into the artistic transformations taking place in that country in the wake of the revolution (1910-21). He spent most of his time in Mexico City and Guadalajara, visiting museums and getting to know the leading players in the “Escuela Mexicana de Pintura.” Both Sabogal and his work were warmly received; he sold paintings to the museum and to the city government of the capital of the state of Jalisco, and influenced, to some extent, the course of local work in the woodcut medium. Sabogal’s experience in Mexico inspired him greatly, deepening his interest in local forms of artistic expression and muralism as well as in the nationalist line that—despite many obstacles—his work had been exploring for a number of years. This interview evidences Sabogal’s artistic interests and his admiration for Diego Rivera.
Pictorial Indianism, which peaked in Peru in the twenties, thirties, and forties, was part of a wider movement in Peruvian society that attempted to redefine national identity in terms of native elements. While, at a certain moment, Indianism’s chief concern was the revalorization of “the indigenous” and of an Inca past seen as glorious, the movement also defended a mestizo identity that brought together “the native” and “the Hispanic.” José Sabogal (1888-1956) was indisputably the leader and mind behind Indianism in the visual arts. His deep sense of “rootedness” was influenced by regionalist tendencies evident in art from Spain (the work of Ignacio Zuloaga (1870-1945), among others) and in Argentina (Jorge Bermúdez (1883-1926), to name just one artist)—countries where Sabogal spent a number of years studying. When he returned to Peru in late 1918, he settled in Cuzco, where he produced almost forty oil paintings of local characters and views of the city that were exhibited in Lima in 1919. That exhibition is considered the formal beginning of pictorial Indianism in Peru. His second solo show in Lima—the one that enabled him to consolidate prestige—was held in the galleries of the Casino Español in 1921. In 1920, Sabogal joined the faculty of the newly founded Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes, which he then directed from 1932 to 1943. The following painters, all of whom formed part of the Indianist movement, studied at that institution: Julia Codesido, Alicia Bustamante (1905-68), Teresa Carvallo (1895-1988), Enrique Camino Brent (1909-60), and Camilo Blas (1903-85).
There are many texts on Sabogal in the ICAA digital archive, including the following written by the painter himself: “Arquitectura peruana: la casona arequipeña (doc. no. 1173340), “La cúpula en América” (doc. no. 1125912), “Mariano Florez, artista burilador de "mates" peruanos, murió en Huancayo: José Sabogal su admirador y amigo, le rinde homenaje” (doc. no. 1136695), “Los mates burilados y las estampas del pintor criollo Pancho Fierro” (doc. no. 1173400), “Los 'mates' y el yaraví” (doc. no. 1126008), “La pintura mexicana moderna” (doc. no. 1051636), and “Sala de arte popular peruano en el Museo de la Cultura : selecciones de arte” (doc. no. 1173418).