Cusco imagery

Don Hilario Mendivil “National Craft Award” (who died in 1977, “one of the most genuine artists and most talented contemporary Cuzco’s imagery, is the founder of the family tradition. His wife, Mrs. Georgina Mendivil, of similar talent worked beside her and persevered in the task with equal enthusiasm to his death in 1999. Today Juana Mendivil, “Grand Prix Peruvian Amauta Craft” (2000), continuous activity with singular dexterity, which has allowed achieve an innovative look different.

Speaking of Cuzco Family Imagery Mendivil is to evoke a unique imagery with religious characters long necks created by Don Hilario, which are based in the area of ​​Cusco, as well as environmental features Cusco, represented by llamas Andes. Don Hilario reveals that the inspiration of his works are largely due to the location of his home in the Barrio de San Blas, which formerly traded their llamas, alpacas and vicuna. It is in this ebb and flow of our unique camelid that the artist understands that his work should have a genuine stamp of Cusco. So he played his characters with long necks, inspired by the fauna of the Andes from Cusco has its roots in the Italian Jesuit School Mariene Bernardo Bitti and Diego Quispe outstanding painter Ttito Cusco, initiators of the Cusco School of Art is also distinguished by their elongated shapes and folds stiff, which made contact his artistic sensibility from his childhood in the churches of Cusco, because his mother was engaged in image restoration of the temples. This activity would continue with his wife Georgina.

With its own interpretation, genuinely mixed, the Mendivil have left several works, among which different titles of the Virgin mamachas, archangels, birth, wise men and the processions in recent imagery. Among the contributions of Joan Mendivil are your pachamamas or Virgin and the abundance of the earth.

Castanea Luisa León, artist and researcher Folk Art said: “I met Hilario Mendivil in the sixties, when animated in Cusco by Alicia Bustamante (Pancho Fierro Gallery), came to Lima to present their work first. artist of fine sensibility, genuinely popular, Hilario Mendivil immediately attracted the admiration of connoisseurs. With its simplicity kindly showed us an enchanting world of virgins, saints, archangels and Magi full of innocent beauty. There stylized figures in their memories long necks recreated images of Hispanic Andean highlands and carved by natives Cuzco …

Noting the continuity of Juana Mendivil Mendivil admire when he says: “Our father drove us the love of folk art and so I have the same dedication and skill of the hard work of the craftsman. I learned imagery through education of my ancestors because my parents were not only artisans but also my grandparents creators. ”

Juana Mendivil has combined the ancient tradition of their parents with their own innovations. She began modeling clay as a child through dedication, experience, continuous training and research in recent years of the Cuzco School and continuous trips to Europe is that their virgins take a Gold Byzantine influence and vivid colors. Achieving a personal style. In his pregnant virgin maternal forms are more marked. Juana, as in the colonial era, used to make his figures glued cloth, especially with three flour pasta potatoes, potato starch, rice and a balsa wood frame for bodies. The parts are carefully painted with natural dyes, a combination of coatings and coated with gold and silver. The baking of his works is the heat of the sun. Joanna is always willing to continue to grow in the art and giving more value to the prominent family of craftsmen who was born: Los Mendivil.

Virgen de la Wait

(Juana Mendivil)