Chambi’s self-portrait features the artist in profile, cast in shadow but with his face illuminated. He holds a glass plate negative (perhaps an earlier self-portrait) above a photo-developing tray. From an Indigenous Quechua-speaking family of laborers in the southern Peruvian Altiplano, Chambi apprenticed in Arequipa before opening a successful photography studio of his own in Cusco. His widely distributed photographs include formal studio portraits and documentation of the city’s architectural and archaeological sites, festivals, workers, and instances of social unrest. Here, he represents himself alongside the tools of his trade, affirming his artistic agency.
2022
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Martín Chambi
Peruvian, 1891–1973 33 works onlineAs an Indigenous descendant, Chambi devoted his decades-long career to photographing the lives and surroundings of the Peruvian people of the Southern Andes during the early 20th century.
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Indigenism
A multifaceted cultural movement spanning several Latin American countries, Indigenism advocated for the defense, rights, and recognition of Indigenous peoples.
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Self-portrait
A representation of oneself made by oneself.
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Studio photography
An approach to photography that involves making pictures, chiefly portraits and still lifes, within the tightly controlled spatial environment of the photographer's studio.
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