Marina Núñez del Prado

Marina Núñez del Prado
Born 17 October 1910
La Paz, Bolivia
Died 9 September 1995
Lima, Peru
Nationality Bolivian
Occupation sculptors

Marina Núñez del Prado (ca. 1910[1]–1995[2]) was a celebrated Bolivian sculptor.

Marina Núñez del Prado was one of the most respected sculptors from Latin America. Her work is highly sensuous, with rolling curves. She carved from native Bolivian woods, as well as black granite, alabaster, basalt and white onyx. Perhaps one of her most famous works is "White Venus" (1960), a stylized female body in white onyx. Another celebrated work is "Mother and Child," sculpted in white onyx. Indigenous Bolivian cultures inspired much of her work.[2]

Background and academic career

Marina Núñez del Prado was born in La Paz, Bolivia on 17 October 1910[3] From early on, Marina studied the plastic arts. She admired the work of Michelangelo and that encouraged her to pursue a career as a sculptor. She studied at the Fine Arts Academy in La Paz (Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes) where she graduated in 1930. Between 1931 and 1938, she taught sculpture and artistic anatomy at the Academy.[3] During that period, she won the post of chair of sculpture and artistic anatomy at the Academy, becoming the first woman to be appointed to that position.

Art career

In 1938 she left her post and traveled through Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, Europe, and Egypt. From 1940 to 1948, she worked and organized exhibitions of her work in the United States while on a scholarship. In 1946 "Miners in Revolt," inspired by the miners in Bolivia's Potosí Department, won a gold medal in a New York exhibition. In 1948 she returned to Bolivia, finally settling down in La Paz in 1958. By 1972 she moved to Peru where she lived with her husband, a Peruvian writer.

Along her successful career she met outstanding artists such as Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brâncuși, poets Gabriela Mistral, Alfonsina Storni and Juana de Ibarbourou. She was also a friend of the Bolivian writer Franz Tamayo.

Legacy and death

In 1984 the house-museum of the Núñez del Prado Foundation was officially inaugurated in La Paz in honor of Marina Núñez del Prado's parents. Some of her works are also located in Museo de Arte Antonio Paredes Candia.

Marina Núñez del Prado died on 9 September.1995.[3] She left not only a great collection of works but also the example of perseverance and dedicated work that made her one of the most acclaimed sculptors of Latin America.

For additional information on Marina Núñez del Prado and to see samples of her work, please visit the Casa Museo Nuñez del Prado.

Notes

  1. ↑ Marina Nunez del Prado. ArtNet. (retrieved 11 Sept 2009)
  2. 1 2 Over de kunstenaar: Marina Nunez del Prado. Galeries.NL. (retrieved 11 Sept 2009)
  3. 1 2 3 Biography. Casa Museo Marina Nuñez del Prado. (retrieved 11 Sept 2009)

References

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