Who, what, or where am I? #12
What is the name of these paintings? Where are they from? And what do they depict?
5 Answers
They look like Tigua paintings from Ecuador.
I'm guessing that they are the Andes Mountains and with the llamas, it's got to be Peru! But the name? I'm sure that Ray will get this one if nobody beats him to it.
Lovely paintings, MC.
Some trivia:
1. All of Julio Toaguiza's 7 children now are famous tigua painters.
2. Tigua paintings are quite small because their dimensions are limited by the size of the sheepskin.
3. The language of the indigenous people of Tigua is Quichua, the language of the Inca.
4. Originally they used inexpensive enamel, but they have changed to oils or acrylics because the lead-based enamel paints are toxic.
5. In the 70s most artists also painted and decorated the frames of the paintings.
6. Tigua art is called 'naive' art because it is extremely colorful and rather flat. But for the past 10 years or so, painters started to integrate perspective, shading, and other Western standards for 'serious' art.
These naive paintings are known as 'tigua paintings', as they are made in Tigua, a high Andean region in the Cotopaxi area of Ecuador.
They depict traditional rural life in the mountains of Ecuador: indigenous farmers herding llamas and sheep, spinning yarn and cultivating potatoes, onions and grains on a patchwork of windswept fields and valleys; celebrating their life with feasts & festivals against the omnipresent snow capped Volcan Cotopaxi looming in the background. Or as Alfredo Toaguiza puts it "they represent the expression of the earth and its many faces."
They date back only to the 1970s when a poor laborer, Julio Toaguiza, started painting on stretched sheep skin canvasses for an art dealer who wanted to market them. The paintings were in great demand and eventually led to a thriving cottage industry which employed and supported a growing number of his relatives and friends. Before that they traditionally painted on drums and masks for use in colourful festivals.
Tigua paintings often depict Pachamama (mother earth) and Pachakamak (masculine spirit of creation) as well as sacred mountains such as Cotopaxi or the Illinizas. They often draw sacred animals such as owls, humming birds and condors. Just like the Sacred Condor is the messenger from the gods, the Tigua painters are messengers, informing the world that the descendants of the Incas still exist, and still want to preserve their traditional way of life and world view.
Beautiful pictures. They reflect very well the beauty of the Andes 
Gracias por compartir.
