Skip to main content
Washington University in St. Louis
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

Create an account to add artworks to your personal collections.

Enter your email address below to recieve an email to reset your password.

An email has been sent to your inbox to reset your password.

image alt

Martín Chambi

Jugando al sapo en chicheria, Cusco (Playing sapo in a chicheria)

1931, printed later

image alt
1 / 1

The Peruvian hacienda, or plantation, was not simply a place but an extensive system of labor exploitation. Indigenous workers signed contracts with plantation owners (hacendados or hacendadas) that often required giving up part of the harvest to the owner and buying products in hacienda stores,for which laborers assumed  unpayable debts. The photograph on the right shows one of the few moments of hacendado-laborer conviviality: a religious celebration, probably of the hacienda’s patron saint. Instead of simply documenting the event’s folkloric attributes, Martín Chambi emphasized social tensions. Although the hacienda owners and their families appear on the balcony, Chambi’s blurred focus toward the background redirects the viewer’s attention from these privileged individuals to the sharply defined faces, bodies, and clothing of the laborers in the courtyard below. [Permanent collection label, 2023]

  • Artist Martín Chambi (Peruvian, 1891–1973)
  • Title Jugando al sapo en chicheria, Cusco (Playing sapo in a chicheria)
  • Date 1931, printed later
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions sheet | 8 x 10 in.
  • Credit line Gift of Laurie Wilson, Robert Frerck, and family, 2015
  • Object number 428.2015

Martín Chambi and Edward Sheriff Curtis
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 11/11/2022 - 11/21/2024

12/10/2015 Received at MLKAM; 12/30/2015 Deed of Gift signed by L. Wilson; 3/31/2016 ACC presentation
Robert Frerck (Chicago, IL)

This artwork record may be incomplete or need refinement. Our staff actively researches the collection and revises records when new information is available. If you have questions or comments about this record, please contact us.

Related Content

go to Martín Chambi and Edward Sheriff Curtis page
431_2015.jpg
Exhibitions

Martín Chambi and Edward Sheriff Curtis

November 11, 2022–November 21, 2024

Image Reproduction Request Form

To request image materials and/or permission to reproduce a work of art from the Museum's collection, please complete and submit the form below. The information you provide here will enable us to process your request and assess the appropriate images, permissions, and any applicable fees. 

Typically, image requests that do not require new photography can be completed within three weeks. Whenever possible, rush orders may be accommodated, although additional fees may apply.

If you have questions, please contact Kristin Good, associate registrar, at kristin.good@wustl.edu.

Checking this box constitutes a legal signature. By checking this box, the applicant agrees to abide by all terms and conditions under which permission is granted to reproduce works of art in the collection of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, and that permission is contingent upon payment of any applicable fees.

* Required fields

test View details