José Gil de Castro

In thisSpanish name,the first or paternalsurnameisGil de Castroand the second or maternal family name isMorales.

José Olaya(1828)

Isabel Riquelme(c.1821)

José Gil de Castro y Morales(1 September 1785 – c. 1840/41) was anAfro-Peruvianportrait painter,cartographerand soldier who spent many years in Chile.

Biography

José Gil de CastroHe was born inLima;his parents were free citizens. His first studies were with Julián Jayo (?-1821) inTrujillowhile he was stationed in Lima as an officer in the colonial militia. When he returned to Lima he was apprenticed toJosé del Pozo.

Somewhere between 1805 and 1808, he moved to Chile, where he opened a studio and established his reputation as a portrait painter. He was familiarly known as "El Mulato Gil". In 1816, he was appointed Grand Master of the Guild of Painters.That same year, he enlisted in theArmy of the Andesand was appointed an officer in the Corps of Engineers. He was placed in charge of making maps, a trade he had practiced earlier in Peru. In 1817, he was married inSantiagoand became a Captain in the Rifle Battalion.He also built a house in theBarrio Lastarriaand was named one of the first members of theLegion of Merit of Chile.His home and the surrounding grounds are now part of thePlaza Mulato Gil de Castro.

Thanks to his reputation as a portrait painter, he travelled extensively throughout Chile and Argentina, working on commissions from notable public figures. A distinguishing characteristic of his work is the text relating to his subject, placed on a banner, plaque or other device, that he included on many of his canvases. In 1820, he became a cartographer for the new Chilean government, but returned to Peru, probably in 1825,and was appointed an official government painter. One of his most notable portraits, and one of the few that does not depict a member of the upper classes, is the one ofJosé Olaya,a fisherman who became a hero of thePeruvian War of Independence.

Although his birthdate can be ascertained from baptismal records, his date and place of death are unknown. Later sources, from the 1870s, say he died at the age of sixty-five, although his death has been placed from 1839 to 1850.The Chilean writerAntonio Gil Íñiguez,in his novelCosa Mentale(A Mental Thing, 1992), attempts to recreate the painter's life, in a fantastical manner.

Further reading

• Magdalena Correa,José Gil de Castro(juvenile biography), Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Chile, 2011ISBN956-34-7037-0
• Patricia Mondoñedo Murillo,El Retrato de José Olaya: La Obra Disímil de José Gil de Castro,Seminario de Historia Rural Andina, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, 2002ISBN9972-9634-5-4

External links

• "Gil de Castro, Painter of Latin American Independence Movement, Gets a Fresh Look in New Getty-Supported Publication"@ the Getty Iris