Vintage Folk Art, Equador Village Scene, Animal Skin

Vintage Folk Art oil painting on animal skin by an artist from Tigua Equador. Village Scene. 13 3/4" X 9 3/4". In very good condition, the skin having no damage. Signed by the artist, lower middle section. Tigua artists high in the Ecuadorian Andes are renowned for their colorful paintings of rural life. Their delightful folk art, painted with chicken feather brushes on sheep hide, celebrates their mountain life with its festivals, legends, and traditions dating back centuries. It started decades ago with a single folk artist living in Tigua – Julio Toaquiza. The men in his village had a long tradition of painting masks and drums. An art dealer in Quito asked Julio to paint on a flat surface and a new school was born. Today, there are several generations of Toaquizas painting in the “naif” style of Tigua – bright and colorful compositions that portray the agricultural lifestyle of the local population. Many of my favorites include the Volcano Cotopaxi, llamas roaming the hillsides with shepherd in tow, women spinning wool outside their homes, and condors flying high above it all. The best paintings include a little of everything so that each time you look, you see a new detail.