QUINTANILLA del MAR, Alberto (1934-)

“El Sueño de la Tierra” should be understood as a waking dream. Intentionally sober, there is no false modernity or realism in “The Earth’s Dream”, only a creation coming from a vision. It could be the vision of a child who has later become Peruvian artist Alberto Quintanilla del Mar. His universe is nourished by the mythology of his South American origins. In this dream, the Earth is personified by a women peacefully falling asleep on a bed, slowly lulled by a soft melody. Music is represented by a two-headed creature playing the flute that emerges from the bed, looking at the viewer as if he was inviting him to join this sweet reverie. The winged dog, open-mouthed, the most faithful companion of man, is also watching over the Earth.

The refined composition brings out the symbolic elements of this illustrated fable. The dreamlike atmosphere is conveyed by the saturated pinks and deep blues. Thanks to its large size, the viewer’s visual field is completely absorbed in the contemplation of the painting, lost in all its color variations.



Because the painting is meant to represent a dream, the sky takes up most part of the composition. The blue surface has an abundance of different shades, making the protagonists emerge from a captivating chiaroscuro. The light and airy brushstrokes blur the contours so the chromatic scale seems to gather the silhouettes as a whole. Faithful to his lyrical world, the artist repeats this scenery with another of his painting, “El Sueño de la Música”, depicting a man accompanied by his dog, receiving what seems to be the gift of music. A similar composition can be found in the painting “Moskoy” which represents a woman asleep, surrounded by a ghostly two-headed creature and a big flying dog watching over the scene.

Two-headed characters staged in a very simple composition onto a colored background are the trademark of Quintanilla del Mar, whether in his paintings, engravings or sculptures. Inspired by the Inca tradition, his creatures reflect his attachment to his native land. It is therefore as a spokesman for his people and culture that the artist was chosen in November 2012 by the Permanent Delegation of Peru to UNESCO to expand the Organization's collection with his very own Dream.

Artist biography

Alberto Quintanilla del Mar was born in Cusco (Peru) in 1934. He currently lives between Paris and Lima. Draftsman, painter, sculptor, engraver and poet, Alberto Quintanilla is an artist with multiple talents. His visual repertoire refers to oral traditions, myths and whimsical characters of the universe of the Andes. He is mostly inspired by Inca culture which especially refers to nature; he however also gives credit to Spanish culture, which he describes as mystical. In 1961, Pablo Picasso who was visiting his retrospective in Paris emphasized the universal character of his paintings, thus confirming his long-time vocation. By not following any trend but only considering his own taste and fantasies, Quintanilla’s art has acquired a truly timeless and devoted dimension:

« [...] I am not a realist, nor an abstract painter. My personal imaginary belongs to the collective imagination of my people. By showing it, I serve my people, and it is in this sense that I am a committed artist. »

Quintanilla studied at the Cusco School of Fine Arts and at the Peru National School of Fine Arts in Lima, where he received a gold medal in 1959. He also studied at the School of Fine Arts in Paris since 1968 and worked as an apprentice in the Louvre’s restoration studio in 1961. During the same period, he studied at Atelier 17, Bill Hayter’s print workshop and in Christian Sorensen’s graphic studio in Copenhagen (Denmark).

He has presented more than fifty exhibitions since 1958 both in Peru and abroad. His works have been exhibited and acquired for both public and private collections, including some in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, United States, Mexico, France, Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland and Italy. He has participated in numerous art biennales, such as the Biennale in Havana (Cuba) in 1986, Krakow (Poland) in 1978, Florence (Italy) in 1972, and the Youth Biennale in Paris in 1969.

Throughout his career, Quintanilla was awarded many honors, such as the Gold Medal of the Congress of the Republic of Peru in 2010, the Intergrafik Berlin Biennale prize and the Florence Biennale Gold Medal in 1972.