Finding Caspicara : double identities, hidden figures, and the commerce of sculpture in colonial Quito /
"Who is Caspicara? Nothing is known of Caspicara's life, and not a single sculpture has been documented as his work. Yet traditional histories laud him as a prolific Indigenous sculptor in eighteenth-century Quito who created exquisite polychrome figures and became a national artistic icon...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Austin :
University of Texas Press,
2024.
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| Edition: | First edition. |
| Series: | Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long series in Latin American and Latino art and culture.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | "Who is Caspicara? Nothing is known of Caspicara's life, and not a single sculpture has been documented as his work. Yet traditional histories laud him as a prolific Indigenous sculptor in eighteenth-century Quito who created exquisite polychrome figures and became a national artistic icon. Drawing on extensive archival, historical, and object research, Susan Verdi Webster peels away layers of historiographical fabrication to reveal what we do and do not know about Caspicara and his work. Rather than a solitary master, Caspicara collaborated with other, largely Indigenous artists in Quito's protoindustrial workshops, manufacturing sculptures now credited to him alone. The high quality of Quito sculptures produced by anonymous artists turned the city into a hub of far-flung commerce in religious icons. The art world and post-independence Ecuadorians have lionized the one named sculptor, Caspicara, according to the Western model of the artist-genius, amplifying the market for works bearing his name and creating a national hero on par with European masters. Lost in this process were the artists themselves. Webster returns to their world, detailing their methods and labor and, for the first time, documenting a sculpture made by Caspicara."-- |
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| Physical Description: | xii, 187 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations ; 27 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781477329726 1477329722 |