Santos Chávez (1934-2001) was a

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...

and painter from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, known for his engravings and woodcuts.

Background

Santos Segundo Chávez Alíster was born on February 7, 1934, in a small town of Canihual, between

Tirúa Tirúa () is a Chilean commune and town in Arauco Province, Biobío Region. The 2010 Chile earthquake led to a permanent uplift of Tirúa of about 180 cm above sea level, the highest recorded uplift related to the earthquake. This caused a lar ...

and Quidico in the

Región del Biobío ''Región'' (, Region) was a Spanish newspaper published in the city of Oviedo between 1923 and 1983. History Founded in 1923, it started as an ideologically Catholic and conservative newspaper. It's first issue was published on the 24 July ...

.Santos Chávez: Earth's Painter.
''Chilean Cultural Heritage Site.'' (retrieved 3 July 2009)Ancan Jara, José
The Engravings of Santos Chavez: Reunion from the Land on the Other Side of the Sea.
''National Museum of the American Indian''. (retrieved 3 July 2009) He was Mapuche, the indigenous people of central and southern Chile and southern Argentina. His father was a ''huinca'' or traditional chieftain, while his mother was Mapuche and Scottish. Santos was the youngest of seven and his given name was Santos Chávez Mac Alister Curinao. His father died when Santos was seven,
(retrieved 3 July 2009) and his mother died when he was 12. When he was young, he herded goats and farmed and could not attended school regularly.

Art studies and career

Between 1958 and 1960, he studied at the ''Sociedad de Bellas Artes'' (Fine Arts Society) at the

University of Concepción Universidad de Concepción (UdeC) is a traditional Chilean private university. The work of the Penquista community, it is one of the most prestigious in Chile, and considered complex due to its extensive research in the various areas of knowled ...

, and supported himself by working night shifts as a baker, construction worker, bill collector, and field hand. In Concepción, he was exposed to the work of artists such as Tole Peralta and followers of

Mexican muralism Mexican muralism refers to the art project initially funded by the Mexican government in the immediate wake of the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) to depict visions of Mexico's past, present, and future, transforming the walls of many public buil ...

, including

Julio Escámez Julio Escámez Carrasco (November 15, 1925 – December 23, 2015) was a Chilean painter, engraver and muralist. His work includes numerous frescoes, oil paintings and engravings (lithography, woodcut and etching) produced both in Chile and abroa ...

, Gregorio de la Fuente and Jorge González Camarena. In 1961, Chávez was invited by Nemesio Antúnez to continue his studies the Catholic University and ''Taller 99'' (Studio 99) in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. Here he perfected the techniques of the

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

dry point In geography, a dry point is an area of firm or flood-free ground in an area of wetland, marsh or flood plains. The term typically applies to settlements, and dry point settlements were common in history. In the United Kingdom extreme examples ...

and wood-block printing. After obtaining the ''Premio Andrés Bello'' in the ''Salón Oficial'' in 1966, Chávez traveled to Mexico to work in the ''Taller Fray Cervando'' in 1967, in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. In 1968, he won Honorable Mention at the ''Casa de las Américas'' in Cuba. In the same year, Chávez traveled to the United States, where he studied at the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

of New York and in the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

. While in Chicago, he participated in the 1969 show, ''Santos Chavez and Hector Herrara: Two Chilean Artists'' at the Renaissance Society at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. Exiled from Chile in 1977, he spent four years in Europe, continued printmaking at the Graphic Workshop of

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and finally settling down in the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, where he worked in a private factory and joined the National Association of Artists. In 1994, after returning to Santiago, Chile, he was commissioned to illustrate

Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...

's collection of poetry, ''All the Songs - You'', translated to

Mapudungun Mapuche ( , ; from 'land' and 'people', meaning 'the people of the land') or Mapudungun (from 'land' and 'speak, speech', meaning 'the speech of the land'; also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu) is either a language isolate or member of the s ...

by poet

Elicura Chihuailaf Elicura Chihuailaf Nahuelpán (, 1952 in Quechurehue, Cautín Province) is a Mapuche Chilean poet and author whose works are written both in Mapudungun and in Spanish, and have been translated into many other languages as well. He has also transl ...

. The subject matter of his prints included landscapes, seascapes, children, and lovers. His artworks, he has said, "have an intimacy with the land, with life, with my thoughts."

Death and legacy

He died on January 2, 2001. During his life, he had over 85 solo exhibitions.Santos Chavez.
''The Ohio Channel.'' (retrieved 3 July 2009) His work was featured in the First Biennial Exhibition of Indigenous Art and Culture. A scholarship for Mapuche artists has been established in his name at the

Playa Ancha University of Educational Sciences Playa (plural playas) may refer to: Landforms * Endorheic basin, also known as a sink, alkali flat or sabkha, a desert basin with no outlet which periodically fills with water to form a temporary lake * Dry lake, often called a ''playa'' in the so ...

. The Chilean National Council on Culture and the Arts offered the first Santos Chávez Prize to indigenous artists in 2008.Estrada, Daniela
Chile: Exhibit to Celebrate Indigenous Art.
''Inter Press Service.'' 2008 (retrieved 3 Nov 2009)

Collections

Chávez's work is included in the public collections of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, New York; Museum of Modern Art,

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

; Museum of Modern Art,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Santiago; the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, New York; the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

; and state museums in Nicaragua and Berlin.

Quotes

"They threw me out twice f the Sociedad They said I was no good. That I should take up something else. But I kept going back. They had no choice but to let me tay The people who had studied in Paris or London could not accept the idea that a man with the face of an Indian like me could draw, engrave, paint." —Santos Chávez "I am a particle in the cosmos, what are we in the planetary system, in infinite space? …Balance, harmony, sense, symbolism, poetry… It is my entire childhood, alone in the country, the world I interpret in my work. In the distance a window opens up […I cannot say 'I know it all,' so I keep working, suffering and seeking to find that indescribable thing that one searches for…" —Santos Chávez

References

External links

Santos Chávez Alister Carinao en la Galería Cultural Codelco
featuring images of his work

Chilean Cultural Heritage Corporation {{DEFAULTSORT:Chavez, Santos 1934 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Mapuche people 21st-century Mapuche people Latin American artists of indigenous descent 20th-century Chilean painters Chilean male artists 21st-century Chilean painters Mapuche artists Chilean male painters Chilean Mapuche people 20th-century Chilean male artists