The discourse of the "Amazonian country" on the mural El Descubrimiento del Río Amazonas of Oswaldo Guayasamín

• Main Authors: Ana Rosa Valdez, Guillermo Morán Cadena
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador 2019-12-01
• Series: INDEX Revista de Arte Contemporáneo
• Subjects: modern art of ecuador; history of ecuadorian art; oswaldo guayasamín; mural discovery of the amazon river; ecuador; amazonian country
• Online Access: http://revistaindex.net/index.php/cav/article/view/288/239

This article is part of the second chapter of the paper “Representations of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuadorian art (1930-2018)”, winning project of the 2018-2019 Call for Artistic and Cultural Projects of the Institute for the Promo-tion of Arts, Innovation and Creatives of Ecuador. The text examines the representation of the jungle on the mural El Descubrimiento del Río Amazonas (The Discovery of the Amazon River) by artist Oswaldo Guayasamín, located at the Carondelet Palace, official building of the Presidency of the Republic of Ecuador. The context of the emergence of this work in the 1940s is addressed, following the War with Peru in 1941 and the further signing of the Protocol of Rio de Janeiro. Likewise, the imaginary of Ecuador as an “Amazonian country”, formed at that time, is analyzed. The work seems to negotiate a hispanic and indigenist visions of history, which provokes a reflection on its ability to contribute to a discourse of national cohesion promoted from political power.