José Francisco Domingo Laso de la Vega y de los Ríos (8 May 1823,

Tacna Tacna was known for its mining industry; it had significant deposits of sodium nitrate and other resources. Its economic prosperity attracted a wave of immigrants from Italy. Today, their Italian Peruvian descendants live in the city and many of t ...

- 14 May 1869, San Mateo District) was a Peruvian painter and politician. During his lifetime he was mostly known for his portraits, but is now better known for creating works that were precursors to

indigenismo ''Indigenismo'' () is a political ideology in several Latin American countries which emphasizes the relationship between the nation state and indigenous nations and indigenous peoples. In some contemporary uses, it refers to the pursuit of great ...

in art.

Biography

He was born to an aristocratic colonial family. His father was Benito Laso one of Peru's founding fathers and, later, a government Minister. His mother Juana was the sister of the "Marquis de Villahermosa de San José". When he was only seven, his mother died and the family moved to

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...

, where his father remarried a year later. Francisco Laso - Self portrait in native costume - Google Art Project

He attended the public schools, then went to

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

to study law, but quit after only a short time and enrolled at the "Academy of Drawing and Painting". While there, he studied with

Francisco Javier Cortés Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

and met the Director,

Ignacio Merino Ignacio Merino Muñoz (30 January 1817 in Piura – 17 March 1876 in Paris) was a Peruvian painter who spent much of his life in Paris. He specialized in historical and costumbrista works. Biography His father, Don José, was a judge, district ...

,Brief biography
@ MCN Biografías. who advised him to continue his studies in Europe. He arrived in Paris in 1843 and found a position in the studios of the Swiss painter

Charles Gleyre Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre (2 May 1806 – 5 May 1874), was a Swiss artist who was a resident in France from an early age. He took over the studio of Paul Delaroche in 1843 and taught a number of younger artists who became prominent, including He ...

. Four years later, he went to Italy, visiting Rome, Florence and Venice. He was especially impressed by the works of

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

and

Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''The ...

. In 1849, he returned to Lima and opened his own studio. He also travelled throughout the Sierra and along the coast, painting works that depicted the life and customs of the region. He was able to make a second trip to Europe in 1851, thanks to a grant from the government. Once again, he worked with Gleyre, promoting his new interest for indigenous themes and exhibiting at the Exposition Universelle. This time, when he went back to Peru in 1855, he settled in Arequipa and, at the request of Bishop (later Archbishop) José Sebastián de Goyeneche y Barreda, he painted several religious works.Brief biography
@ El Arte de Pintar. He also did portraits. In 1863, he was married and made another trip to Europe which lasted for three years. Shortly after his return, he was a participant in the

Battle of Callao The Battle of Callao (, as it is known in South America) occurred on May 2, 1866, between a Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez and the fortified battery emplacements of the Peruvian port city of Callao during th ...

, where he served as a firefighter. The following year, he was elected a

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

to the "". Once in office, he was attacked by anonymous critics, complaining that he had made a profit from the various grants that had allowed him to study in Europe. In an effort to silence them, he presented the government with three paintings. An epidemic of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

struck Lima in 1868, and he worked closely with the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

in their campaign to eradicate it. His health was not up to the effort, however, and he caught the disease in 1869. He died near the village of San Mateo while being transferred to a mountain resort for treatment.

Selected paintings

File:Francisco Laso - Indio alfarero.jpg, Indian Potter (1855) File:Francisco Laso - The Laundress - Google Art Project.jpg, The Laundress (c.1858) File:Francisco Laso - The Three Races or Equality before the Law - Google Art Project.jpg, The Three Races (c.1859) File:Pardo y Aliaga.jpg, Portrait of

Felipe Pardo y Aliaga Felipe Pardo y Aliaga (11 June 1806, Lima – 24 December 1868, Lima) was a Peruvian poet, satirist, playwright, lawyer and politician. Biography A member of Lima's aristocratic elite, his father was Manuel Pardo Ribadeneira, ''oidor'' ...

(1860s)

References

External links

Complete introduction to ''Aguinaldo para las señoras...''
by Natalia Majluf @ OpenEdition Books {{DEFAULTSORT:Laso Francisco 1823 births 1869 deaths People from Tacna Peruvian painters Deaths from yellow fever Portrait painters Peruvian legislators 19th-century Peruvian painters 19th-century Peruvian male artists Peruvian male painters

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links