LOS ÚLTIMOS MOMENTOS DE PEDRO DE VALDIVIA (1875) BY NICOLÁS GUZMÁN: RECONSTRUCTING THE HISTORY OF A PAINTING

Abstract

Th is article explores the history painting Th e Last Moments of Pedro de
Valdivia (1875) by Chilean artist Nicolás Guzmán Bustamante, in the light of its context
of production and critical reception at the International Exposition of 1875. Some
of the primary sources that allowed the creation of this work are identifi ed and the
production of the painting, destroyed in the bombing of La Moneda in 1973, is reconstructed.
It also introduces the main voices that identifi ed this canvas as a remarkable
example of Chilean history painting. The article proposes that the attention paid to the theme of Valdivia’s last moments is subtly related to the socio-political context of the
time: the “occupation of Araucanía”.