An artistic review about a famous painting by a Chilean artist.

1. 1888 Foundation of Santiago by Pedro Lira (1845-1912)
By Alejandra Riquelme V.
Foundation of Santiago, dating from 1888, is a
painting by Pedro Lira. It is exhibited at the National
Historical Museum in Santiago, Chile. It is oil on
canvas considered the master piece of this Chilean
artist. Its historical importance and the impact this
painting produce in the viewer are enough reasons to
take a look of it in situ.
Pedro Lira Rencoret is considered one of the most
important painters of the later 19th
century. He also
was an art critic and one of the founders of the
Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts. Form 1873 to 1884 he lived in France where improved his
technique. Soon after his arrival, he organized an exposition devoted exclusively to Chilean
painters.
The Foundation of Santiago is an enormous painting of 98.42”x157.48” (250cm x 400cm), well-
known for being in Chilean history coursebooks and part of the last five hundred pesos bill used
during the second middle of the 20th
century. This work of art was exhibited at 1889 Paris Universal
Exposition, where it won a second medal. It was purchased by the Chilean government for $4,000.
The painting depicted the moment when Pedro de Valdivia founded the city of Santiago in 1541
onto the Santa Lucia Hill. Nearby the protagonist, there are people en masse giving movement to
this work; Spanish soldiers, natives and a priest help us to imagine that important moment in
Chilean history. The sight at the bottom of the picture is the Mapocho river and its valley where
actually was built the city of Santiago.
This drawing is one of the high points in an exhibition, named Discovery and Conquer, which
whets the appetite not only about the Chilean art, but also about its history. I highly recommend to
take a look to this beautiful painting.