This article by Peruvian art critic Carlos Solari, who used the pseudonym “Don Quijote,” addresses an exhibition of wood engravings by José Sabogal (1888–1956), the instigator of pictorial Indianism in Peru; the exhibition was held at the Academia Nacional de Música “Alcedo” in Lima in 1929.
Sabogal produced a large number of wood prints—a medium perfectly in keeping with the expressive quality of his art—in conjunction with his painting. Indeed, Sabogal’s interest in that medium is evident in the fact that during a trip to Mexico in 1923, he encouraged artists to resume production in it. At an exhibition of his work held in Buenos Aires in 1928, critics were particularly complimentary of his wood engravings. Indeed, their praise served to solidify recognition of his work in the medium. He even held exhibitions featuring solely wood engravings in Montevideo (1928), Lima (1929), and the United States (Miami, 1931 and 1934; New York, 1933). His prints were used to illustrate important publications, such as Amauta (Lima, 1926–30), a magazine directed by Juan Carlos Mariátegui.
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. At a certain moment, Indianism’s chief concern was the revalorization of “the indigenous” and of an Incan 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 intellect 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 Cusco, 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 new 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).
[Of the many texts in the ICAA digital archive pertinent to Sabogal, the following were written by the artist himself: “Arquitectura peruana: la casona arequipeña (doc. no. 1173340); “La cúpula en América” (doc. no. 1125912); “Mariano Flórez, 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)].