Ximena Morla Lynch (1891–1987), also known as Ximena Morla de Subercaseaux, was a

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 ...

an feminist writer and painter. The daughter of writer Luisa Lynch and conservative politician Carlos Morla Vicuña, she had five siblings, including , a diplomat, and

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

, a writer. Her granddaughter is the novelist Elizabeth Subercaseaux.

Work

Part of her literary output is known to be unpublished or scattered in newspapers and magazines – as is also the case with other

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

writers of the era such as her mother and sister, María Luisa Fernández, and

Sara Hübner de Fresno Sofía Sara Hübner Bezanilla (born 18 December 1888; date of death unknown), also known as Sara Hübner de Fresno and by her literary pseudonym Magda Sudermann, was a Chilean feminist writer, journalist, and editor. Biography The daughter of ...

. Her literary work is considered to be part of the early 20th century

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

that sought to massify feminist thinking and fight for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

. For some authors, her work can be framed within so-called "aristocratic feminism", along with other writers such as Elvira Santa Cruz Ossa, Blanca Santa Cruz Ossa,

Inés Echeverría Bello Inés Echeverría Bello (22 December 1868–13 January 1949) was a Chilean writer and feminist. Early life and education Inés Elena Echeverría Bello was born on 22 December 1968 in Santiago to an upper class Catholic Chilean family. ...

María Mercedes Vial María Mercedes Vial Solar (1863–1942), also known as María Mercedes Vial de Ugarte or by her literary pseudonym Serafia, was a Chilean feminist writer and novelist. Her parents were Wenceslao Vial y Guznián and Luisa Solar y Marín. For som ...

Teresa Wilms Montt María Teresa de las Mercedes Wilms Montt (8 September 1893 – 24 December 1921; pseudonyms Tebal and Teresa de la Cruz), also known as Thérèse Wilms Montt, was a Chilean writer, poet, and anarcha-feminist. Described as "embodying sexua ...

, María Luisa Fernández, and

Mariana Cox Méndez Mariana Cox Méndez (also, Mariana Cox-Stuven; pseudonyms, Shade and Oliver Brand; 1871 – September 8, 1914) was a Chilean writer, feminist, essayist and novelist. In addition to novels and short stories, she wrote pieces in the newspaper '' ...

. The

spiritism Spiritism may refer to: Religion * Espiritismo, a Latin American and Caribbean belief that evolved and less evolved spirits can affect health, luck and other aspects of human life * Kardecist spiritism, a new religious movement established in ...

sessions that she held with her sister Carmen in the early 20th century have inspired plays and novels. In ''Grupo 7'', – the Morlas'

esoteric Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...

circle to which painter María Tupper (1893–1965) also belonged – Ximena was the main

medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...

, although her sister Carmen also functioned as such. Her

astral Astral may refer to: Concepts of the non-physical * Astral body, a subtle body posited by many religious philosophers * Astral journey (or ''astral trip''), the same as having an ''out-of-body experience'' * Astral plane (AKA astral world), a p ...

name was ''Vera'', her sister's was ''Nakinko'', her mother's was ''Asiul'', and Tupper's was ''Cirineo''. As a painter, she made portraits in oil on canvas. She was also an "illustrator and creator of imaginative compositions of native style."

Painting exhibitions

Individual

* 1977: Municipality of Zapallar,

Zapallar Zapallar is a commune and a town located in Chile's Petorca Province, a part of the Valparaíso Region. It covers 288 km2 (111 square miles) of land. Zapallar is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean approximately 125 km (78 miles) mil ...

, Chile

Group

* 1915: Exposición Anual de Bellas Artes, Salón Oficial, Santiago * 1927: Exposición de Bellas Artes, Salón Oficial, Santiago * 1936: Exposición Nacional de Artes Plásticas de

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

* 1963: Salón Oficial de Artes Plásticas, Santiago * 1975: La Mujer en el Arte, Museo Nacional de Bellas artes, Santiago

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morla Lynch, Ximena 1891 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Chilean painters 20th-century Chilean women writers 20th-century Chilean non-fiction writers Chilean people of Irish descent Chilean painters Chilean feminist writers Chilean expatriates in France 20th-century Chilean women painters