Travels with Zen-Aida » Santiago de Chile

Santiago: Palacio Cousiño – grand living for a grand family

zda — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:33:14 +0000

As with so much of society in South America, fashions in European culture and art set the tone in the 19^th century. This very strong influence and orientation is seen just as much in Santiago as in other capitals of the continents on the Southern Hemisphere. The Palacio Cousiño is no exception. It was built between 1870 and 1878 by the French architect Paul Lathaoud for one of the first families of Chile: The Cousiño Goyenechea family owned the important mines of Lota (coal) and Chañarcillo (silver) as well as the vineyard of Viña Cousiño-Macul (still in belonging to the family today).

Luis Cousiño Squella (1835 - 1873) never saw the palace finished, since he died from tuberculosis at the age of 38 in Perú. His young and beautiful widow, Isidora Goyenechea, then only 37 and mother of seven children, took on the running of the family enterprises. Not only did she take over, but she expanded the business empire, including having the South American first hydroelectric installed by Thomas A. Edison's company. She never remarried and, like Queen Victoria, wore black until her own death in Paris in 1897 at the age of 61. Her remains were transferred with great pomp and homage to be buried in Chile. Her will set apart a substantial part of her fortune for the construction of several churches, schools and homes for disabled miners, as well as a hospital close to the mines with generous facilities for women and children.

Only the finest building materials and furnishings were used and since the family business also had a shipping fleet, these materials could be easily brought from Europe: Italian marbles and majolica tiles, parquet flooring and custom designed and hand-carved furniture in exotic woods such as American oak, ebony, mahagony, walnut, French Sèvres and Limoges as well as German Meissen porcelaines, French and Italian silks and velvets, Belgian crystal chandeliers, and so forth. The first elevator in Chile was even installed. It is indicative of the contemporary fashion of the time that the representative portraits hanging in the central hall of Don Luís show him in a pose akin to King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Doña Isidora painted in the style reminiscent of the German painter Franz Xaver Winterhalter (who portrayed Empress Sissi of Austria amongst other royalty and society notables).

Built around a central atrium hall, there were twelve salons on the main floor, each for a different use: the grand dining room, a golden hall for formal events and balls, a music room with a grand piano, a tea room, an arms room, a Pinacoteca where the most important paintings and library were displayed. The private bedrooms and sitting rooms were on the second floor. The third floor housed rooms for governesses and tutors. Amazingly, this vast domestic home was only ever occupied by seven family members at one time - and about thirty sevice staff.

Times, family structures and needs changed, as well as upkeep costs escalating. In 1940 the palace including contents was put on auction. At the last minute, an agreement was reached between the Municipality of Santiago and the family: for a symbolic sum, the palace was sold to the city, who used it to put up high dignitaries visiting the city until 1982. A fire completely destroyed the second and third floor during that year, thus making it impossible for Queen Elizabeth II to stay there on her official state visit to Chile that year. The second floor was rebuilt and the palace reopened as a museum and declared a national monument in 1981.

Today, it is very sad to see this really very lovely residence, with its adjoining park, be located in an area of town that clearly shows signs of decay. I misjudged the distance from the central metro station, therefore walked about a kilometer along Calle Dieciocho leading to the museum - nowdays lined with some new, but mostly historic old buildings housing schools and institutes of all kinds. Many of these edifices still show vestiges of by-gone architectural embellishments. It is no wonder that I was married to an architect, my heart goes out to these buildings and I would love to see them all refurbished. By the way, when I finished my visit and asked the friendly concierge how to get back, I was directed to "just across the park" to the closest metro station.

All photographs copyright and courtesy of the museum.

Santiago: Museum of Pre-Columbian art

zda — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:27:46 +0000

The Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino is touted as one of the finest museums for Pre-Columbian art in the world. The heart of the collection comes from over 50 years of a passion for collecting beautiful artefacts of all pre-Columbian cultures by Sergio Larraín García-Moreno, a Chilean avant-gardist architect. The museum, a collaboration of his foundation and the Municipality of Santiago, opened its doors to the public in December 1981. It is housed in the stately old Palace of Justice in downtown Santiago.

Sergio Larraín's one overwhelming critereon for a piece of art to be included in his collection was that it provoke an emotional reaction, regardless of its art historic importance or financial value. Consequently, the extensive collection contains objects of high aesthetic value from many Latin and South-American cultures, many totally unknown to most of us. To quote the website of the museum: "It was neither the complex technical knowledge, nor the heterogeneous aboriginal economies that attracted the collector, but that far more profound and spiritual message of art".

Some comments:

Wari (ceramic bottle with handles and portrait) and Tiwanaku (llama) were two of the biggest states on the Andes before the Inca. Although there were many political and economic diffrences between them, which eventually ended in conflict, their art shows their close association. The same repertoire of images and shapes are used in both states, in stone sculptures as well as in polychrome ceramics and textiles.

Moche culture vitrine: The objects that are found in the tombs of the Moche culture, and which are necessary for the deceased's successful journey, usually refer to the power of men and animals to cause death and to feed off of it, with represenations of warriors, prisoners, birds of prey and felines. This cultural importance of death was skillfully handled by the authorities, since these objects were made by artisans and workshops controlled by the state. In this way, the Moche lords controlled people's lives, as well as their passage to death.

Wooden people or Chemamull were important funeral elements of the traditional Mapuche culture. They accompanied the deceased during a ceremony where speeches were made in praise of the dead and later were set up next to the grave. These rites strictly followed tradition since a careless funeral could mean that the deceased's spirit, instaed of becoming an ancestor who would watch over his/her relatives, would be trapped by some witch and changed into an evil spirit.

By the way, the museum's website is excellent in the amount of in-depth information it gives about the various cultures and objects on show. And that goes for both the Spanish and English versions!

Santiago: Museo de la Moda

zda — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:26:05 +0000

Applause for private initiative! This museum grew out of a son's admiration for his mother's sense of style and fashion. It probably also helped that the family's business had to do with the textile industry. At any rate, the Museo de la Moda, established in 2006 by Jorge Yarur Bascuñan, is located in the former residence of one of Chile's most noted businessman, Jorge Yarur Banna and his wife Rachel Bascuñan Cugnoni. This is a 1500 sq. mtr. House, completed in 1961, surrounded by a park of 10,000 sq. mtrs. planted with, by now, magnificent specimen trees. Strongly influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, the house in itself is a museum, with its clear lines and vistas, use of native woods, stones and glass. At the time of construction, the location of this estate was far away from downtown Santiago. Now it is part of one of the most exclusive neighborhoods, Vitacura, easily accessible by metro, bus and car.

The house was made "museum-visitor-friendly" by building an extension and remodeling several rooms. Now, the visitor can appreciate the main rooms and then continues on to the permanent exhibit of historic tennis equipment, including tennis-ball machine making equipment. Then follows the current showing (changes every year). The one I visited is called "War and Seduction" and follows the development of fashion in World Wor I and II, both from a military and civilian point of view.

My resume: Don't miss this museum (and the Ralli Museum) if you are in Santiago. These two museum will give you many hours of pleasure and lasting memories.

All photographs are courtesy of Museo de la Moda.

Santiago: Museo Ralli Latin American art

zda — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:37:35 +0000

Hidden away in the exclusive Viracura neighborhood, on a quiet side street corner, is a sprawling red building with simple lines and wide stairs leading up to glass doors. Entering the light-filled lobby, I find I am the only visitor this winter morning. Friendly staff take my coat and invite me to take as many photographs - with or without flash - as I wish. That, in itself, is already a pleasant surprise.

As I start wandering around, I notice that, true to the intentions of the owner, there is little information about the artists, other than their names, where they come from and when the work was made. Harry Recanati feels it is up to each visitor to form his or her own individual opinion, wants to let every work make its own impact on the viewer. No pre-digested art historian's morsels to be found here!

A discreet golden frame contains a photocopied article from a Marbella newspaper informing that Mr. Recanati was a banker who decided to sell his banking interests in England, Switzerland and France and dedicate his life to his passion - collecting art and building not-for-profit museums accessible free of charge to the public. The first one to open was in the elegant beach resort of Punta del Este in Uruguay in 1987, followed by this one in Santiago in 1992, another one in Caesarea, Israel, 1993; in Marbella, Spain, in 2000. A fifth museum, called "Ralli Museum 2" and dedicated to classical art from the 16^th to the 18^th centuries was opened to the public in Caesarea, Israel in 2007. Parts of the museum collections travel from museum to museum. Mr. Recanati's avowed aim is to bring contemporary Latin American artists, a selection of works from the 15^th to 18^th centuries and the post-impressionist period to the attention of a greater interested public. To this end, he has developed the most likely most important private collection of Latin and South American artists in the world, encompassing the works of over 800 artists, which is shown in an exhibition area of more than 12.000 sqm. for all five museums.

Another characteristic of the Ralli Museums is their policy of not accepting donations or subsidies from third parties. A fundamental principle is that no commercial activity whatever should take place in the Ralli Museums, meaning there are no gift shops or restaurants.

To quote the only page of the museum on the internet: „We fully agree with the famous French classical painter, Nicolas Poussin, who said: ‚Pleasure is the purpose of art'. Undoubtedly, beauty and pleasure are badly needed to alleviate the extreme tensions that plague our lives nowadays."

Thank you, Mr. Recanati, for your generosity, I accept your invitation to take pleasure in your museum with gratitude!

Santiago: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

zda — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:46:58 +0000

The museum of fine arts - Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes - is housed in a magnificent palace dating back to 1910, reminiscent of the Petit Palais in Paris: ornate wrought-iron gates open onto a central hall, caryatid columns hold the filigree-boned ironwork central glass cuppola (imported from Belgium in 1907). Shiny black granite tiles show off the sawdust scattered around in tidy piles .... Sawdust piles? Per chance the legendary German artist Joseph Beuys has made unknown installations in Santiago? No, a much more prosaic use - whenever it rains, the roof leaks and the staff put out sawdust to absorb the raindrops... better than pots and pails, I suppose.

And that is just about the state in which this museum in this lovely building is in. My first impression: this is supposed to be the paramount state collection of paintings and sculptures?

Let's give the management the benefit of the doubt and suppose that the treasures are hidden away in some depot. In talking with residents of Santiago who are in the know, however, my suspicions are confirmed: there are no treasures hidden away, this is pretty much it. The running of the museum is politically appointed, it does not necessarily go to the candidate who is best qualified to do so. Pity.