Caspicara

Manuel Chili (Caspicara)
Born	ca. 1723 Royal Audiencia of Quito
Died	1796 Royal Audiencia of Quito
Known for	Sculpture
Movement	Quito School (Escuela Quiteña)

Manuel Chili (ca. 1723, Quito – 1796) – known as Caspicara ("wooden face") – was an Ecuadorian sculptor who exemplified the Quito School movement of the 18th century Andes. His major religious works, characterized by polychromed wood sculptures in an elegant Spanish Baroque style, are preserved in the Quito Cathedral and the Church of San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador, and in Popayán, Colombia. His work was rediscovered in 1791 and championed by Eugenio Espejo, then the country's leading intellectual.

Caspicara was born into an Indigenous family in Quito in about 1723. Among his predecessors was Diego de Robles (d. 1594) and among his mentors was Bernardo de Legarda (ca. 1700—1773), whom he is sometimes seen as succeeding. As a sculptor, he worked in both wood and marble, always within the prevailing Baroque style and with a religious motif. He grouped figures in a manner that evokes painting as much as sculpture. His technique of representation, especially of human anatomy, was impeccable.

Numerous works are attributed to Caspicara, among the most notable are listed here. Dating of individual works is very difficult.

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