2000 Years of Latin American Portraits

Retratos: 2000 Years of Latin American Portraits is an important exhibition of artworks created throughout Latin America over the centuries. Southern California’s San Diego Museum of Art will be the only West Coast venue for the exhibit. Retratos marks the very first time a comprehensive exhibition of Latin American portraiture has ever been assembled for a US tour. The artworks displayed cover various historic epics, starting with the art of indigenous cultures like the Maya of Mexico and the Moche of Peru. The astounding sculptures from the original inhabitants of the Americas explode the myth that Europeans brought civilization to this hemisphere. The ceramic portrait vessels from the Moche culture are the oldest works shown, and the pitchers dating from the years 100 and 800 are so strikingly realistic that it will take your breathe away. Art produced under Spanish colonial rule is on display, and the modern period is well represented by Fernando Botero of Columbia and Diego Rivera, José Guadalupe Posada, Frida Kahlo, and Rufino Tamayo of Mexico. Bold new paintings from contemporary Latin American artists are also presented.

The exhibit of course focuses on portraiture, and so presents a dizzying history of Latin America’s indigenous leaders, Spanish conquerors, heroic revolutionaries, scholars, clergy, as well as portraits of the ordinary men and women who contributed to the history of the Americas. An illustrated overview of the exhibit can be seen here. Jointly organized by the San Antonio Museum of Art, El Museo del Barrio (New York City), and the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, the show is comprised of 114 works in different media, ranging from sculpture and photography to painting. Retratos runs from April 16th to June 12th, 2005. For more information on the San Diego showing, visit the San Diego Museum of Art website. (posted by Mark Vallen)