Manuel Chili "Caspicara" (c. 1723 - c. 1796) was an Ecuadorian sculptor considered one of the greatest exponents, along with Bernardo de Legarda and José Olmos "El Gran Pampite", of the so-called Quito School during the 18th century.
From a young age, with a lot of talent, he was trained in the art of sculpture and carving in a workshop in Quito. Caspicara cultivated religious motifs until he became one of the most famous of his time, not only in the Americas, but in Europe.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
It is said that Carlos III of Spain said "I am not worried that Italy has Michelangelo, in my colonies in America, I have Master Caspicara."
Caspicara's work adorns Quito's colonial churches, particularly the Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito and the San Francisco Convent. Emphasizes in his work the realism with which he represented the hardships of Jesus crucified and the pain on the faces of his characters.
Biography
Manuel Chili was born around 1723 in San Francisco de Quito, a territory that then belonged to the Royal Audience of Quito under the rule of the Spanish Empire.
There are few details of his life, but it was believed that his ancestry was purely indigenous so, in the absence of portraits, it is supposed to be a person with a coppery face and smooth skin.
Surely his appearance helped him to take the stage name Caspicara. In the indigenous Qechua language, the words caspi and cara mean wood and bark, respectively; so Caspicara could be translated as Wood Skin or Wood Face, just like the works born of his art.
Like so many other indigenous and mestizos, he began his training in one of the manual labor workshops in Quito.
From an early age he stood out for his talent and received the support of the Jesuit priests, who took care of his education, food, housing and gave him a monetary allowance.
The high quality of his work brought him fame from all corners of the empire and it is said that his works adorned temples and houses in Peru, Colombia, Venezuela and Spain.
All his work is invaluable, as it was declared a Cultural Heritage of Ecuador. Furthermore, even if it belonged to a private collection, it could not be commercialized.
Death
The consensus of the experts is that Manuel Chili “Caspicara” died around 1796, although some claim that he may well have lived until the first decade of the 19th century. It is known, however, that he died in poverty in a hospice.
Artistic work
Caspicara's work is clearly framed within the Quito School of the 18th century. The influence of Bernardo de Legarda and Diego de Robles, in whose workshops he worked during his youth, is recognized.
He always used religious motifs and was one of the greatest exponents of polychrome wood, following the forms and styles typical of the Castilian school of Spanish Baroque.
Like many artists of the time, they mixed indigenous and European features in their characters. In some, dark skin is noticeable while those are blue-eyed and bearded.
All his work focused on religious motifs, with particular attention being his Christs, virgins and altarpieces. In fact, it is his representations of Christ Crucified that spread his fame throughout the empire, as they drew attention for the realistic representation, not only of sores and wounds, but of the pain on the face of Jesus.
He was the first and only of the colonial artists who made nudes and one of the few who made group sculptures; his miniatures are a show of virtuosity.
Criticism of his work
- “His works are of finished perfection, and it is not known what to admire more in them: if the happy idea of the composition or the masterful manner in the execution, if the elegant grace of the line or the magnificent preciousness of the mass, if the meticulous interpretation of the drapery of its statues or the correctness of the anatomical shapes in its admirable crucifixes.
A direct descendant of the Spanish school of polychrome carving, he only worked on religious works full of deep feeling and, therefore, marked with the elegant baroque style of the 18th century "
(José Gabriel Navarro, The Sculpture in Ecuador during the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries, p. 171).
- “A man of rare talent, he was trained in one of the many sculpture workshops that were in the city at that time and came to possess art in an amazing way. His works are of finished perfection and it is not known what to admire more in them: if the meticulous interpretation of the drapery of his statues or the correctness of the anatomical forms in his admirable crucifixes.
He is the prince of colonial American sculpture, already for the absolute goodness of his works, and for his fertility. A direct descendant of the polychrome carving school, he worked only religious works full of deep feeling, therefore marked with the elegant baroque style of the 18th century.
It is worth noting - yes - that Caspicara, in imitation of the Castilian sculptors of the 16th and 17th centuries, made emotion and feeling the cult of his art; There is not a single image of this famous Indian that does not carry within itself, other than the precision of the forms, the true sincerity of the most intense emotions.
Caspicara was a great performer and, at times, he reached virtuosity, the undulating planes of some of his statues are so delicate and certain refinements of his modeling so magnificently made.
Fray Agustín Moreno Proaño, Caspicara (1976).
Best known works
It is very difficult to date the works of Caspicara. Numerous works are attributed to him, among which are:
References
- Avilés Pino, E. (2018). Caspicara - Historical Characters - Encyclopedia Del Ecuador. Encyclopedia Of Ecuador. Available at: encyclopediadelecuador.com.
- En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Caspicara. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
- Erazo, L. (1992). Prince Of The Colonial Quiteña Sculpture: Caspicara - Explored. Available at: archive.li.
- Cvc.cervantes.es. (2018). CVC. Quito. Manuel Chili, «Caspicara».. Available at: cvc.cervantes.es.
- Vargas, J. (1944). Colonial Quito art. Quito, Ecuador:.
- Rivas, J. (2012). A site called San Francisco:: Key Magazine. Available at: web.archive.org.
- Larriva, G. (2014). "RESEARCH OF THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE PRODUCTION OF THE SCULPTURE WORK OF CASPICARA, THROUGH THE TECHNICAL STUDY OF THE SCULPTOR SET:" LA SABANA SANTA "LOCATED IN THE CATHEDRAL OF QUITO.. Quito, Ecuador: UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA EQUINOCCIAL FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, ARTS AND DESIGN, pp. 31, 32, 38-45. Available at: repository.ute.edu.ec.