THE NATIONAL LIBRARY—PERUVIAN WRITERS—PAINTING AND ILLUSTRATIVE ART
[Illustration: DR. RICARDO PALMA. DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY,
LIMA.]
In accordance with the liberal principles of an independent nation, one
of the first acts of the government, after the inauguration of the
republic, was to issue a decree on the 28th of April, 1821, creating the
National Library. Freedom of the press was established at the same time,
and other measures were adopted by which the newly emancipated people
could enjoy opportunities for gaining knowledge that had not been
available under colonial rule. The Liberator, General San Martin,
realizing the importance of providing every means for the better
education of the masses, took advantage of the first occasion that
presented itself to forward his liberal plans. Not only was public
instruction established on a broad basis, but the spirit of inquiry was
stimulated by encouraging the publication of reading matter, and by
giving literature a permanent place among the national institutions.
Formerly, the means of gaining information had been very limited, in
consequence of the strict rules which governed the distribution of
books.
The patriotic motive that guided the Liberator in founding the National
Library is evident in his decree, which declares that “as ignorance is
the strongest pillar of despotism, free governments should adopt an
opposite course, allowing mankind to follow its natural impulse toward
perfection.” The library was first opened to the public on the 17th of
September, 1822, with a collection of about twelve thousand volumes.
Many of these were of great value, as the long residence of Spanish
state and church officials in the viceregal capital had resulted in the
introduction of the best European literature, some of which, interdicted
by the Holy Office, had been concealed for a long time, and came to
light only with the triumph of the Independence. All the works printed
by the press in Peru since its first establishment in 1580 were placed
in the National Library, which was enriched with rare editions of the
Bible; a curious volume on palmistry, dated 1449, presented by General
San Martin; a breviary, printed in Venice in 1489; and an edition of
Plato of still older publication, as well as complete sets of the
writings of classic and modern philosophers and scientists. The nucleus
was chiefly derived from the convents, which had been the great
repositories of literature in colonial days, and many Latin books, in
folio, were acquired, treating chiefly of religious subjects. The
library was established in a building formerly occupied by the College
of Caciques, famous under the viceroyalty as an institution that
provided for the Christian education of noble descendants of the Inca
emperors.
When the Chilean army occupied Lima in 1881, this flourishing
institution, which was among the most important in America, was
destroyed, the valuable collection, then amounting to about fifty
thousand volumes, being in part carried off to Chile and the remainder
publicly sold at auction by weight.
The restoration of the National Library is largely due to the efforts of
its present director, Dr. Ricardo Palma, who worked with zeal and
enthusiasm to recover a treasure which he recognized as of priceless
value, since it represented not merely intrinsic worth but also the
standard of intellectual recreation which the public demanded after half
a century of free government. Dr. Palma repurchased some of the precious
volumes put up at auction, and secured rare old manuscripts that had
been sold as waste paper. The portraits of the viceroys, all of which
had been torn down from the walls of the library by the invading
soldiery, were recovered, with two or three exceptions. This collection
is one of the most notable in America, as the portraits are consecutive
examples of the art of three centuries, and provide a unique study for
the connoisseur. They have recently been removed to the National Museum.
The loss of the library was one which no effort could entirely replace,
and the Peruvian people regretted it as a bitter calamity; everything
possible was immediately done toward making a new collection. Other
nations expressed their regret and sympathy, and many gifts of valuable
works were received. Spain, Argentina, the United States, and Ecuador
sent generous collections of books, many patriotic Peruvians made
donations from their private possessions, and, in 1884, the National
Library reopened with twenty-eight thousand volumes.
At present the library consists of fifty thousand books and manuscripts,
arranged according to a systematic classification. The library building
occupies a central location, and is a typical Spanish edifice, built
around an open court, or _patio_, with upper and lower corridors, which
were originally the cloisters of the College of Caciques. The rooms used
by the National Library extend the full length of the building, and
include, in addition to the book section, a commodious reading-room,
furnished with modern desks and lighted with electricity; the library is
open to the public in the evenings as well as during the day. On the
bookshelves, a very important place is given to the collection sent by
the Smithsonian Institute, of Washington, amounting in all to five
thousand volumes. A recent acquisition, known as the Quixote collection,
embraces the most notable editions of Cervantes, among others that of
Argamasilla, which was printed with silver type, and one issued in
Argentina in 1905, the latter being the only edition published in South
America. This classic of old Spain has been translated into eighteen
different languages, and the Library of Lima has copies of all except
the Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, and Dutch editions. The library has also
been enriched by a gift, from President José Pardo, of sixty volumes,
the scientific collection of the celebrated ornithologist, William
Nation, purchased by His Excellency for the section of natural sciences.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY, LIMA.]
Dr. Palma is one of the best known writers of South America, as well as
a devoted bibliophilist, and his knowledge of Spanish literature has
been gained through years of acquaintance with the best authors of Spain
and Spanish-America. In restoring the National Library, he has given
particular attention to the acquirement of noted works and rare
editions. With especial pride in the genius of his compatriot, Don Pablo
Olavide, whose literary productions had a tremendous influence in
stimulating liberal thought among the Spanish-Americans a hundred years
ago, Dr. Palma is now engaged in getting together a complete collection
of the eleven existing editions of that author’s _El Evangelio en
Triumfo_, the greater part of which he had already secured. Don Pablo
Olavide was a native of Lima, where he was born in 1725. When a young
man, he went to Europe, became an enthusiastic friend of Voltaire and an
admirer of the Encyclopædists, and was a special mark for the
surveillance of the Holy Office until his death in 1803. His books were
read with avidity by the youth of Peru and the other Spanish colonies,
and they may be said to have prepared the way for the patriotic movement
which later won the independence of Spanish-America.
During the last days of the viceroyalty the sentiment of freedom was the
predominating note in the national literature, and the stirring period
of the independence brought many gifted orators and writers into
prominence. In the columns of the _Mercurio Peruano_, politics and
poetry were themes that divided honors about equally, the style in which
a political essay was written in those days being hardly less flowery
than the language of verse. In this periodical also appeared articles on
philosophy, history, and science. Don Hipólito Unánue, of Arica, one of
the editors of the _Mercurio Peruano_, exerted a powerful influence in
favor of republicanism during the last years of colonial rule. He wrote
under the pseudonym of “Ariosto,” and, after the inauguration of the
republic, continued to contribute to the national literature, at the
same time taking an active part in the government as Minister of Finance
in the cabinet of President Riva-Agüero. Contemporary with Unánue,
Bernardo Alcedo, a noted writer and musician, fought in the war of
independence and celebrated the victory for the patriot cause by
composing the national hymn of Peru, the music of which is inspiring and
triumphant. Mariano Eduardo de Rivero, the author of _Antiguëdades
Peruanas_, José Gregorio Paredes, a celebrated astronomer and
mathematician, Mateo Aguilar, whose panegyric on Ignatius Loyola has
been translated into several languages, and Manuel Lorenzo Vidaurre, an
eminent jurist, the first president of the Supreme Court of Peru, were
among the celebrated writers who flourished during the early years of
the republic. Miguel Garaycochea, author of _Calculo Binomial_, was a
noted scientist of that time.
The literature of Peru reached a period of prolific expression about the
middle of the past century, when the inimitable satirists, Felipe Pardo
y Aliaga and Manuel Ascencio Segura wrote their comedies on the national
manners and customs. Felipe Pardo, the grandfather of President José
Pardo, was a statesman as well as a poet, and was representing his
government as minister to one of the European courts when he was made a
member of the Spanish Royal Academy. His best known work is called _El
Espejo de mi tierra_—“The mirror of my country,”—and gives an
entertaining picture of Peruvian life fifty years ago. Segura’s
comedies, written about the same time, were clever satires on the
prevailing creole customs, especially his _La Saya y Manto_, _Ña
Catita_, _El Resignado_, and _Lances de Amancaes_. Another writer of the
same period, Manuel Atanasio Fuentes, who satirized the political and
social foibles of his day in a periodical called _El Murcielago_—“The
Bat,”—found in literary work a pleasing diversion. He was a noted jurist
and wrote treatises on constitutional law, administration, and similar
subjects. The Peruvian critic is often satirical in his treatment of men
and books, a keen sense of humor giving piquancy to his judgment. In
this art, Don Pedro Paz Soldán y Unánue excelled, his pseudonym “Juan de
Arona” being known throughout South America. He was a member of the
Spanish Academy and a distinguished Latin and Greek scholar. In _El
Chispazo_, a humorous periodical which he edited, his crisp epigrammatic
style was at its best. He was born in Lima in 1839 and died in 1895,
having employed his talent ably and successfully through the difficult
periods when his country was facing the greatest crises that could arise
to impede the progress of a young nation.
[Illustration: PATIO OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY, LIMA.]
Many of the intellectual leaders of Peru were nurtured under the
strenuous regimen which the unsettled conditions of the first thirty
years of republican rule made necessary, their genius shining out with
brilliancy during the period of peace and prosperity that followed. It
was not unusual to find a general of the army, whose war record was the
pride of his country, devoting himself to literary work later, when
quiet reigned. One of the most celebrated historians of Peru, Don Manuel
Mendiburu, whose monumental work, _Diccionario Biográfico del Peru_ has
made his name immortal, fought in the patriot ranks during the war of
independence, was made Minister of War by President Gamarra, became a
general of the army, and was president of the commission that reformed
the military laws, as they exist to-day. He was a statesman as well as a
soldier, and presided over the assembly which, in 1860, promulgated the
present constitution of Peru. As Minister of War, Minister of Finance,
and Diplomatic Minister to England, he served his country with honor and
distinction, being one of the most illustrious men of his day, in war
and peace. It was only in the intervals of his public career that Dr.
Mendiburu found time to pursue his biographical studies, the results of
which are most important to Peruvian literature. For, though this great
work is called a dictionary, its sixteen volumes are so complete in
historical information as to be entitled to rank among the best records
of the colonial period of Peru. Of the eighty years that covered the
lifetime of this great man, from 1805 to 1885, more than three score
were spent in public service. He led the vanguard in the last war, was
War Minister in 1880, and at the time of his death was president of a
commission charged with the reorganization of the National Archives. It
is not often that human activity extends over so many years, and one is
accustomed to think that in Latin countries, and especially in the
tropics, the spirit of youth is of short duration, the precocious child
arriving early at the zenith of his possibilities, and declining at an
age when the slower native of a less favored zone is in his prime. There
are remarkable exceptions to this rule in Peru, where the years have
passed lightly over many a _viejo verde_, as the “green old age” is
called. Don Francisco de Paula Vigil, the liberal philosopher of Tacna,
prominent for half a century in politics and literature and director of
the National Library for forty years, died in 1875 at eighty-three years
of age. Luciano Cisneros, an eminent orator, jurist, and writer on
constitutional law, was a member of the Academy of Jurisprudence in
Madrid, a judge of the Superior Court, Minister of State, Diplomatic
Representative of his government in Europe, and held his own among the
leading statesmen of Peru until his death in 1906, at seventy-four years
of age. Francisco Garcia Calderon, a member of the Spanish Academy and a
writer of note on legal and other subjects, as well as a statesman of
renown, was one of the most active leaders in promoting his country’s
progress at the time of his death, in 1905, though he had already passed
his seventieth year. The present director of the National Library,
though still one of the younger generation in spirit and sympathy,
published his first book, _Anales de la Inquisicion de Lima_, forty-five
years ago, and was at that time already prominent in political affairs.
As consul to Brazil, secretary to President Balta, and Senator of the
republic in three legislatures, he early proved himself one of the most
brilliant young men of the nation, and when he went abroad in 1865 after
leaving Brazil, his genius shone with lustre in the highest intellectual
circles of Europe. The fame of Ricardo Palma rests chiefly on his
masterpiece, _Tradiciones Peruanas_, the only literature in existence
which gives local color to the history of the viceroyalty in Peru, and
preserves for posterity the very life and essence of its fascinating
social annals. The Lima of the _Tradiciones_ has survived the change of
government and, though one no longer sees the viceroy and his court, it
is still possible to visit many places made familiar by Dr. Palma’s
stories. The charming Limeña does not now appear in _saya y manto_, it
is true, but she is as clever and bright as of old; the Franciscan friar
is still in evidence, and the little _zambo_ wears the same contented
countenance that distinguished his ancestors a hundred years ago; the
Indian is sad and patient, as the author of _Tradiciones_ paints him.
The characters that live and move in Ricardo Palma’s book are real and
immortal. Up to the present time no other author in America has been
able to paint such vivid and intimate pictures of colonial times. The
work was originally published in six volumes, in 1870, though many
editions have since appeared, and a new volume has recently been added,
entitled _Ultimas Tradiciones Peruanas_. Ricardo Palma is a member of
the Royal Spanish Academy, the Hispanic Society of America, and other
leading historical and scientific societies of Europe and America. The
author of the present work has just completed the translation of
_Tradiciones Peruanas_ into English.
If the more intimate features of colonial society are to be understood
only through a perusal of _Tradiciones Peruanas_, a general idea of the
viceroyalty is best obtained from the works of Don Sebastian Lorente,
who wrote the first complete history of Peru, in five volumes, published
in 1871, giving an especially interesting description of the colonial
period. He made a lifelong study of the history of the country, and for
forty years lectured on his favorite theme in the University of San
Marcos. Another historian, Don Mariano Paz Soldán, contributed a most
important geographical work to the literature descriptive of his
country, and wrote several books on historical subjects. His _Atlas del
Peru_ and _Diccionario Geografico y Estadistico_, published thirty years
ago, contained the first complete description of the political divisions
of the republic, and afforded valuable information regarding the
physical features, climate, resources, and population of Peru. Dr. Paz
Soldán was a statesman of noted ability and rendered invaluable services
to the cause of education and in behalf of prison reform. As Minister of
Justice and Public Instruction in the cabinet of President Balta, he
founded a school of sciences and reorganized the Universities of
Arequipa and Cuzco, besides establishing numerous secondary schools. The
illustrious patriot died in 1886 at sixty-five years of age, his funeral
being conducted with State ceremonies, and attended by the highest
officials of the government. The historian, Dr. Eugenio Larrabure y
Unánue, pronounced the funeral oration, and the assemblage at the bier
of the lamented scholar was representative of the best intellect of
Peru. Dr. Larrabure y Unánue is the author of a number of historical
works, of which his studies relating to ancient Peru possess especial
interest and value. He is also a statesman and diplomatist, literature
being his favorite diversion in such hours of leisure as an active
public career affords. Another celebrated Peruvian authority on the
antiquities of the country, Dr. Pablo Patron, is a scholar of
international renown, whose archæological study, _La Lluvia_, read a few
years ago before the Congress of Americanists at Stuttgart, attracted
general attention among antiquarians. Dr. Patron has rendered important
services to his country in scientific research and has made the study of
Peruvian textiles and potteries a specialty, giving them a fascinating
charm, which ethnologists as well as lovers of decorative art are quick
to appreciate.
[Illustration: DR. JOSÉ ANTONIO MIRÓ QUESADA, THE NESTOR OF THE PERUVIAN
PRESS.]
Several students of the literature of the Incas have devoted themselves
to the task of preserving Incaic legends and musical compositions. The
drama _Ollanta_ has been translated into Spanish by three well-known
scholars, Don José Sebastian Barranca, Dr. José Fernando Nadal, and Dr.
Gavino Pacheco Zegarra. Don José Maria Valleriestra, a musical composer
of note, is the author of two operas, _Ollanta_ and _Atahuallpa_, which
have been presented in Lima and elsewhere with success. The greatest
Peruvian writer on the subject of Incaic civilization and history—the
most celebrated chronicler of his people—was the Inca Garcilaso de la
Vega, who was born in Cuzco in 1539, and died in Spain in 1618. He spent
the first twenty-one years of his life in Peru, his father Garcilaso,
one of Pizarro’s followers, having married a native princess of the
royal line of Incas. His _Comentarios Reales_ are still regarded as the
most authentic source of information existing in reference to
prehistoric Peru.
The history of Peru, both ancient and modern, is a theme of such
extraordinary interest that it is not strange Peruvian writers should
have made it the predominating subject of their works. No country has
such a wealth of romance to kindle the imagination and to inspire the
poet, and no country has greater reason to be proud of its annals, and
the patriotic sentiment which finds expression in the literature and art
of the country is altogether admirable. The Athenæum of Lima, the
Geographic Society, and the Historical Institute, all intellectual
organizations, were created for the purpose of promoting the study of
Peru, from a literary, geographical, and historical standpoint, and
their libraries contain many valuable works by Peruvian as well as
foreign writers. The first of these institutions was founded under the
name of the Literary Club of Lima, in 1877, Don Francisco Garcia
Calderon being its president. Ten years later it was reorganized and
took the name of the Athenæum of Lima; among its members are the most
illustrious scholars of Peru. Don Luis B. Cisneros, a member of the
Spanish Royal Academy and one of Peru’s greatest poets was crowned by
the Athenæum, with impressive ceremonies, in 1897. His poems, novels,
and dramas are among the literary treasures of his country, and his
death, which occurred in 1903, was an occasion of national mourning. The
Athenæum was founded too late to number on its roll the gifted poets
Clemente Althaus, Nicolas Corpancho, Constantino Carrasco, Arnaldo
Marquez, Trinidad Fernandez, and Adolfo Garcia, who died several years
earlier; Carlos Augustus Salaverry, the son of the illustrious General
Felipe Santiago Salaverry, and a poet of great genius, died in Paris in
1888, a year after the Athenæum was organized; and José Antonio de la
Lavalle, a member of the Spanish Academy and a diplomatist of notable
talent, whose literary style was especially distinguished for its grace
and purity, reached the close of his useful and brilliant career in
1894, at sixty years of age. Don Felix Cipriano Coronel Zegarra, of the
Spanish Royal Academy, one of the most illustrious scholars of Peru and
a member of the Athenæum, collected a great deal of valuable information
relating to the literature of his country, and his _Notes for a Literary
History of Peru_, now in possession of the Faculty of Letters of the
University, contains sufficient material for a literary encyclopædia.
[Illustration: COLUMBUS BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA. BY IGNACIO
MERINO.]
The present president of the Athenæum is Dr. Javier Prado y Ugarteche,
Dean of the Faculty of Letters of the University, a statesman and
diplomatist, as well as an author of distinction. His book on the
condition of Peru during the viceroyalty is one of the most interesting
studies in sociology written within recent years. Dr. Prado y Ugarteche
is a booklover of fine judgment, and he possesses one of the largest and
most valuable libraries in America. His brother, Dr. Mariano Prado y
Ugarteche, is also a statesman and a bibliophilist. He is the author of
important works on literature and Incaic history. As a member of the
Athenæum, and as vice-president of the Historical Institute, he has done
much to promote the success of both these organizations. Another
prominent member of the Athenæum, who is secretary of the Historical
Institute as well, Don José Toribio Polo, occupies a unique place among
Peruvian scholars as a bibliographer and a literary critic. He was
formerly Dr. Palma’s assistant in the directorate of the National
Library, and to his patient investigation of ancient documents is due
the elucidation of many facts in the past history of the country, his
thorough knowledge of Peruvian chronicles giving especial value to the
critical studies he has made of various historical works.
[Illustration: THE DISILLUSION OF THE ARTIST. BY DANIEL HERNANDEZ.]
The purposes of the Athenæum and the Historical Institute are closely
related, both aiming to encourage intellectual progress, and many
writers of prominence belong to both societies. The Athenæum has been
called upon to mourn the loss of some of its most distinguished members
within the past few years, among them Don Carlos German Amezaga, a poet
of rare genius and culture, who was its vice-president at the time of
his death, in 1907. He belonged to a family of noted talent, his father,
Don Mariano Amezaga, having been a philosopher and writer of great
ability. The secretary of the Athenæum, Don Francisco Garcia Calderon y
Rey, and the assistant secretary, Don José de la Riva-Agüero y Osma,
also inherit their literary genius, their surnames indicating their
distinguished descent. Don José Santos Chocano has attained an honored
place among the literary lights of Europe, and the Athenæum is justly
proud of his success. Don Luis Fernan Cisneros, Don Teobaldo Elias
Corpancho, Don Carlos Larrabure y Correa, Don Clemente Palma, Don
Aurelio Arnao, and Don José Augusto de Izcué are among the poets whose
verses are a credit to the Athenæum. Don José Izcué writes history as
well as poetry. As Director-general of Public Instruction in the
_ministerio_ of Dr. Jorge Polar, he was identified with the inauguration
of the Historical Institute, and especially with the establishment of
the museum, being appointed director of the department devoted to the
colonial and republican collection. His historical works are chiefly
studies of the republican period.
[Illustration: THE CHARMER. BY ABELARDO ALVAREZ CALDERON.]
In the _Revista Historica_ and the quarterly review of the Geographic
Society, the representative scientific periodicals of Lima, and in
_Prisma_, _Actualidades_, _Variedades_ and other illustrated weeklies of
superior literary and artistic merit, the best intellect of Peru has
found expression. Don Carlos Romero, the editor of the _Revista
Historica_, Don Clemente Palma, editor of _Variedades_ and Don Enrique
Castilla, editor of _Actualidades_, are writers of exceptional talent
and originality. Periodical literature is a popular avenue for the
literary aspirant, and the number of writers increases as the magazines,
reviews, humorous weeklies, and daily newspapers multiply. The directors
of all these publications are writers of note, and it is frequently
through their initiative that societies are formed for the promotion of
science or literature. The founder of the Geographic Society, Don Luis
Carranza, a native of Ayacucho and one of the most distinguished writers
of Peru, was at one time a director of _El Comercio_, the oldest daily
newspaper in Peru. He was the author of important historical works and
his influence was great in stimulating intellectual progress. Few
institutions in South America are better known abroad than the Lima
Geographic Society, which was founded in 1888 and installed in its
present quarters in 1891. As the title signifies, the principal purpose
of the Society is to foster geographical study in Peru, though its scope
is broad and liberal, and the quarterly review not only contains
articles on archæological geography, statistics, and climatology but
also the texts of conferences given in the hall of the society on
scientific topics of general interest. The society is a dependency of
the Foreign Office and is under the protection of the government. Dr.
Eulogio Delgado, the president, is a recognized authority on the
geography of Peru, and under his administration the society has achieved
its present importance and prestige. The secretory, Dr. Scipion Llona,
has made interesting studies in archæological geography and Incaic
history, and the sub-secretary, Don Carlos Bachman, is the author of the
best existing history of the political demarcation of Peru. On the
membership roll, which contains three hundred and thirty-five names of
active members, in addition to honorary and corresponding associates,
are some of the most illustrious scholars of Peru, and the library of
the society is constantly enriched by the acquisition of valuable works.
Don Alejandro Garland, a prominent member of the Geographic Society,
recently published an important book on his country, _Peru in 1906_,
and, from time to time, articles, pamphlets, and larger volumes are
issued by the society or its members, which add to historic and
descriptive literature.
[Illustration: UNE PARISIENNE. BY ALBERT LYNCH.]
The progress of the press in Peru has been most notable during the past
few years. _El Comercio_, which has been a faithful chronicler of the
political and social events of the country for nearly three-quarters of
a century, still stands at the head as a representative of Peruvian
journalistic ethics and enterprise. The same policy which made the paper
the exponent of liberty half a century ago,—when it fought a noble
campaign in favor of the abolition of slavery, first of the negroes and
later of the Indians,—makes it to-day the leader in promoting the
highest principles of humanity, advocating the most necessary reforms,
and encouraging the best citizenship. Modern methods are employed in its
extensive news service and the latest material improvements have been
inaugurated in every department. The proprietor and editor-in-chief of
_El Comercio_, Don José Antonio Miró Quesada, is the Nestor of
journalism in Peru and is esteemed as the exponent of its most worthy
ideals. The press of the republic is represented by about two hundred
newspapers, the principal dailies being _El Comercio_, _El Diario_, and
_La Prensa_ of Lima; _La Bolsa_ and _El Deber_ of Arequipa; _El
Comercio_ and _El Sol_ of Cuzco; _La Razón_ and _La Industria_ of
Trujillo; though every city and town has its newspaper, and in the
larger centres an illustrated weekly is also issued. Many of the leading
editors and journalists are prominent in politics and hold important
offices in the government. Dr. Felix Castro, the owner and editor of _El
Comercio_, in Cuzco, was secretary of the presidency in the
administration of President Serapio Calderon and served his country as
propagandist in the United States, where his journalistic talents were
of great value in advancing his mission through the _New York Herald_,
_Sun_, and other dailies.
In painting and music, as well as in literature, Peru has an honored
place among American nations, though it is generally the fashion in
Peru, as in the United States, to maintain that only in Europe are great
masterpieces painted, and that home talent cannot achieve the results
possible in the “atmosphere” of the art centres of Paris, London, and
Rome. Many of Peru’s greatest artists have their permanent place of
residence abroad, and in the art exhibitions, their names appear among
those of the most successful painters. This was true half a century ago,
when one of the greatest painters of his day was a Peruvian, Don Ignacio
Merino, born in Piura and sent to Paris to study art under Monvoisin and
Delacroix. In the years 1869 and 1870 he won the highest honors of the
Salon, his famous work, _Columbus before the University of Salamanca_,
being among the noted modern masterpieces. _The Vengeance of Cornaro_,
_Felipe II. Dying_, _The Friar Painter_, and _Cervantes Reading Quixote_
are well known to connoisseurs and possess superior merit. The
illustrious painter died in Paris and was buried in Père la Chaise. He
bequeathed his paintings to the city of Lima and they are now in the
gallery of the Historical Museum. In the museum also hangs the
masterpiece of Luis Montero, another Piura artist, who was educated in
Italy and studied under Fortuny. It is entitled _The Funeral of
Atahuallpa_ and is notable for the contrasts of stillness and movement,
though the Indians are too dark in color and the women too European in
type to give a faithful idea of the subject. In the gallery of the
museum are historical paintings by Francisco Esteban de Ingunza and
other noted Peruvian artists.
Don Luis Bacaflor is esteemed one of the greatest Peruvian painters of
the present day. His _Head of an Old Man_ is a celebrated study painted
by him several years ago, and he is the author of many other well known
pictures. His home is in Paris, where he counts among his friends the
leading artists of Europe. The story of Bacaflor’s early struggles and
his sturdy patriotism give a peculiar interest to his later successes.
When a mere youth, he went to Chile to study his beloved art, giving
evidences of the genius which has since developed in all its strength.
He won the Prix de Rome, in recognition of which the Chilean government
offered to send the aspiring young painter to Europe, that he might have
the advantage of the best training of foreign masters. With what a
thrill of delight must the student have seen such a prospect open before
him! But,—it was impossible to accept the terms, which demanded that he
renounce his beloved Peru and become a Chilean citizen. Not a moment did
the patriotic young artist hesitate, sending at once the answer which
was apparently to cut him off from a brilliant career and the
achievement of his dearest ambition. His reward has been a noble one.
The Peruvian government in recognition of its gifted and patriotic young
citizen, sent him to study under its own auspices, and the result has
been an honor to the nation. Albert Lynch, also a Peruvian, a native of
Trujillo, is among the famous painters at the French capital. Francisco
Lazo, Daniel Hernandez, of Huancavelica, Herminio Arias, the Countess de
Beon, Alberto Pareja de Mijares, and Juan Lepiani are names well known
in the art circles of Europe, especially in Rome and Paris, where their
pictures have been exhibited in the salons. Abelardo Alvarez Calderon,
who has won fame as an illustrator, lives in London. There are still a
few artists who have remained in their own country, and the illustrative
art, as seen in the magazines, gives evidence of superior talent. Don
Miguel Miró Quesada is one of the most gifted of the younger generation,
his clever sketches and caricatures being an attractive feature of the
current periodicals.
The painter, Francisco Lazo, was both litterateur and artist, and the
author of the Peruvian national hymn, Bernardo Alcedo, wrote a book on
the elemental philosophy of music, besides composing the music of the
hymn and a number of masses, a _Miserere_, and other works. The composer
Valleriestra, devotes all his leisure to musical study. Peru has a
celebrated cantatrice, Señorita Margarita Alvarez de Rocáfuerte, who has
won fame in the European capitals by her divine voice and the sympathy
and grace with which she interprets the masters of music. She is young,
beautiful, and of artistic temperament, and wins her audience from the
first moment. Not long ago, this charming songbird of the Andes received
the gold medal in a musical contest in the Royal Academy of London.
The Philharmonic Societies of Lima and Arequipa are flourishing
organizations, whose purpose is the encouragement of musical art. The
Arequipa society is older and of larger membership than the Philharmonic
of the capital, which was inaugurated less than a year ago. The Lima
society is composed of patrons and active members, the former
contributing funds for the maintenance of the society, while the latter
assist in classes and take part in the musical concerts that are given
under its direction.
[Illustration: DOLCE FAR NIENTE. BY DANIEL HERNANDEZ.]
[Illustration: UNIVERSITY OF SAN MARCOS, LIMA.]