José Juan de Dios Mateo Osbaldo Botaro Lepiani Toledo (20 September 1864,

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 ...

– 28 November 1932,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) was a Peruvian painter. He is primarily known for historical and patriotic scenes; notably those related to the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

Biography

As a young man he worked at a series of simple jobs, such as paymaster for the central railroad. He considered art to be his natural vocation, however, so he began studying with and Ramón Muñiz, a Spanish painter living in Lima, about whom little is known. In the 1890s, Lepiani began his series of historical scenes. In 1903, he went to Europe, where he visited museums and exhibitions. He eventually settled in Rome, where he lived a somewhat dissolute life and created few original works, preferring instead to copy the

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

, such as

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

and

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 sell the reproductions to American tourists. His copies were highly regarded, however, and some of the best ones were even sent home to Peru. He returned home in 1928, prematurely old and almost blind from the arduous copying work; often done in poor light. The following year, he was back in Europe where his finances fell victim to the Crash of '29. Penniless and totally blind, he died in Rome four years later. Among his works depicting the War of the Pacific, the best-known include the death of Colonel

Francisco Bolognesi Francisco Bolognesi Cervantes (November 4, 1816 – June 7, 1880) was a Peruvian military general. He is considered a national hero in Peru and was declared patron of the Army of Peru by the government of Peru on January 2 of 1951. Early life a ...

at the

Battle of Arica The Battle of Arica, also known as ''Assault and Capture of Cape Arica'', was a battle in the War of the Pacific. It was fought on 7 June 1880, between the forces of Chile and Peru. After the Battle of Tacna and the following Bolivian withdra ...

Alfonso Ugarte Alfonso Ugarte (July 13, 1847 – June 7, 1880) was a Peruvian civilian turned military commander during the War of the Pacific, between Peru and Bolivia against Chile. He held the rank of colonel. Ugarte was born in Tarapacá Province (Peru), ...

riding his horse over a cliff to prevent the Peruvian flag from being captured, and a scene from the

Battle of Miraflores The Battle of Miraflores occurred on January 15, 1881 in the Miraflores District of Lima, Peru. It was an important battle during the War of the Pacific that was fought between Chile and the forces of Peru. The Chilean army led by Gen. Manuel ...

where weaponless civilians rise to the defense of Lima. Although lesser known, he also created canvases related to the

Spanish Conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

, the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...

and the coup d'état of 1895, led by

Nicolás de Piérola Jose Nicolás Baltasar Fernández de Piérola y Villena (known as "''El Califa''" ("The Caliph"); January 5, 1839 – June 23, 1913) was a Peruvian politician and Minister of Finance of Peru, Minister of Finance who served as the 23rd and 31 ...

Sources

Jorge Basadre Jorge Alfredo Basadre Grohmann (February 12, 1903 – June 29, 1980) was a Peruvian historian known for his extensive publications about the independent history of his country. He served during two different administrations as Minister of Educa ...

: ''Historia de la República del Perú (1822 - 1933)'', Vol.10, p. 292, Empresa Editora El Comercio S. A., Lima, 2005. * Alberto Tauro del Pino: ''Enciclopedia Ilustrada del Perú.'' 3rd. Ed., Vol. 9. Lima, PEISA, 2001.

External links

Powerpoint presentation on Juan Lepiani
by Gabriela Lavarelo Vargas de Velaochaga. Downloadable @ Holismo Planetario. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lepiani, Juan 1864 births 1932 deaths People from Lima History painters War of the Pacific Peruvian people of Italian descent 19th-century Peruvian painters 19th-century Peruvian male artists 20th-century Peruvian painters 20th-century Peruvian male artists Peruvian male painters