Drawing Instruction in the Amazon: Artistic Creative Formation in the Mojos Region

Friday, May 16
10:00 a.m.
Speakers: Verónica Muñoz-Nájar, PhD, Associate Curator of Art of the Spanish Americas, the Thoma Foundation
MOPA@SDMA Joan and Irwin Jacobs Theater

Join us as Dr. Muñoz-Nájar examines the fascinating intersection of art, colonialism, and cultural transformation in 18th-century Amazonia. The presentation explores how Spanish administrator Lázaro de Ribera established drawing schools in the Mojos region as a tool for both "civilizing" Indigenous populations and spurring economic development.

The lecture highlights the remarkable work of Indigenous artists including Heugene, Avirá, Guayacho, Guacayane, Noé, and Hojeari, who studied and reinterpreted European masters like Carracci, Guercino, and Le Brun. Through their drawings, these artists created a unique visual language that both emulated European academic traditions and subtly subverted them, embedding their own cultural perspectives and artistic agency.

Dr. Muñoz-Nájar will demonstrate how these works served as both a bridge and a boundary between colonial authority and Indigenous expression, revealing how artistic education became a complex space where European aesthetics were simultaneously adopted, transformed, and reimagined within the context of Spain's colonial project in the Americas.

Please note, this lecture is in-person only and held at the state-of-the-art MOPA@SDMA Joan and Irwin Jacobs Theater in Balboa Park.

$10 members and students | $15 seniors and military | $20 nonmembers

This lecture is presented as a part of the Guest Lecture Series, which offers a platform for renowned scholars and experts from the art world to share their insights and knowledge on topics related to art history, art theory, and
the museum's collections.

Sponsored by The San Diego Museum of Art Docent Council.