Julia Codesido was not only a painter, printmaker, and educator but also – starting in the first decades of the twentieth century – a feminist activist. Committed to Indigenism and informed by the frequent trips she took to all corners of her native Peru, Codesido developed a unique pictorial language that redefined national identity by embracing its native roots. In her work, the artist not only explored Peruvian identity but also reworked the figure of woman. A feminist activist, Codesido was a member of a number of groups in the early 1920s that defended women’s rights in both the private and public spheres. Painted in vibrant colours, Vendedora ayacuchana (1927) depicts a barefoot woman wrapped in a typical Peruvian blanket. Her features are striking and the look in her eye profound. This work, like all of Codesido’s production from this period, reflected her interest in the aesthetic and sensibility of the Andes.
This is the first time the work of Julia Codesido is presented at Biennale Arte.
—Sonia Becce
