The literature of Bolivia has had among its exponents more than one authoress and poetess, the most famous writer of the bello sexo having been Doña Maria Josefa Mujía, the blind poetess, who, in addition to original poems, made excellent translations of Victor Hugo and Lamartine. Doña Mercedes Belzu de Dorado, daughter of President Belzu, Doña Modesta Sanjinés, and Señorita Adela Zamudio have also written gems in both prose and verse. Señorita Zamudio, whose pseudonym is “Soledad,” has not only produced exquisite poetry, but she has painted very beautiful pictures, and may be considered one of Bolivia’s best artists.

The history of art in Bolivia is brief, but not without interest. During colonial times, when the capital of the Audiencia of Charcas was one of the principal centres of Spanish culture in the New World, it was not unusual for the wealthy residents of Chuquisaca and Potosí to possess paintings by the best masters of Europe. A few of these rare productions have been kept by families of the capital for generations, though the greater number have been disposed of. Some curious specimens of art of the Flemish school adorn the walls of several old public buildings; and in the mint of Potosí is a collection of paintings, presented to the Imperial City by the Emperor Charles IV. of Spain, and said to have been painted by Velasquez. In the cathedral of Sucre hangs The Vision of San Cayetano, an oil painting on copper, which was brought over from Spain by one of the bishops of Charcas and presented to the cathedral. It is well preserved, and one of the best art critics of New York has judged it to be a work of great value. The Beheading of Saint Paul is the subject of another painting, also on copper, signed “Wolfaert,” which is wonderfully preserved. Five beautiful old paintings hang in the church of Santa Teresa, of Cochabamba.

Sucre and Cochabamba have, perhaps, given to Bolivia her best artists. Don Avelino Nogales, who was born in Sucre in 1871, is one of the greatest painters of Bolivia. He studied art in Buenos Aires, and early showed signs of a remarkable gift in portrait painting, in which he excels. A full-length portrait of ex-President Baptista is among his most successful works. José García Mesa, of Cochabamba, is probably the best known of Bolivian artists, and by his death, a year ago, the nation lost one of its most gifted sons. His life was devoted to studying and teaching his beloved art. His initial attempts were exhibited in Sucre and Buenos Aires, and later he went to Europe. At Rome he succeeded in gaining an honorable place among the best artists, and two of his paintings, La Ciociarra and Los Pescadores en el Tiber, were hung in the Salon. The last-named was awarded Honorable Mention, and the artist was elected to membership in the International Artistic Association of Rome. He had the honor, while at Rome, of painting a portrait of Queen Margharita; and one of his paintings, a Saint Louis, was hung in the church of Yassy, after receiving the blessing of Pope Leo XIII. In 1885 he went to Paris and devoted his talent to portrait painting, in which lay his forte. His portrait of President Schenk, of Switzerland, now hangs in the Legislative Hall of Berne. He painted portraits of several distinguished Europeans, achieving considerable success in his chosen field. Returning to Bolivia, he founded an academy of painting in the capital, under the protection of the government, but later he transferred it to Cochabamba, where it was established under favorable auspices, and was maintained until his death. He is the author of two historical paintings, Murillo on the Gallows and The Martyrdom of San Sebastian.

Among the artists who have recently achieved distinction are Aniceto Valdez, author of Indians of Potosí and other paintings of note, Carlos Berdecio, Saturnino Salamanca, Porcel, Sainz, Teodomiro Beltrán, and David García. The pupils of José García Mesa have, with few exceptions, done excellent work, Señorita Zamudio being one of the most talented of his class. Doña Eliza Rocha de Ballivian, who studied in Santiago, Chile, has produced several paintings of merit; and Don José Alvarez, caricaturist, Don Zenón Iturralde, Felix Jordan, Diego Carpio, Cristóbal García, Pompilio Barberí, and Tomás Morales have shown artistic talent of a high order. Sucre is the home of a most extraordinary genius in the person of an Indian, who, with no instruction whatever, has proved himself an excellent amateur sculptor, and whose statues adorn many private gardens and some of the public parks of the capital.

In music the Bolivian has shown the possession of much natural talent, though little instruction has been afforded, owing to the remote situation of the country and its limited relations with the great musical centres of the world. There are several musicians and composers of note, though the soul of the nation seems to find its best expression in oratory and poetry, influenced, as Mantegazza says, by “the grandeur of nature around, the sublime spectacle of which exercises immense power over heart and brain, stimulating the culture of philosophy and poetry.” Bolivia has produced talent of widely varying character, but the opportunity for development, especially in the study of art and music, has been restricted. The late Samuel Oropeza, when minister of public instruction, presented to Congress a plan for the establishment of an academy of music and the pensioning of Bolivian students of art and music to enable them to pursue their studies in the best schools of Europe; and the disposition is marked, on the part of the present government, to encourage talent in every field by the most judicious method. Of the composers who have dedicated their genius to music, Don Teofilo Vargas has achieved the greatest fame. His first successful composition was a brilliant waltz, in two parts, called the Proceso Sejas, which was written to commemorate a cause célèbre. It was published in Paris in 1890. A funeral march, written for the occasion of the obsequies of Bishop Granado, of Cochabamba, and published in 1902, is regarded as one of the author’s best compositions. Suspiros, a mazurka published in Buenos Aires in 1902, and numerous other recent pieces, are very popular. He has composed religious music also, and is an expert violinist, interpreting the masters with great sympathy and intuition. Among other musicians of note are several who have also achieved success in politics and diplomacy, and who belong to the best-known families of the republic. Adolfo Ballivian is the author of Rosy Dreams. Graceful compositions have been written by Eloy Salmón, Eduardo and Daniel Nuñez del Prado, José Bravo, Manuel Luna, and Francisco Suárez, author of the waltzes Forests of the Beni, Glories of the Acre, and other veritable gems. In patriotic music, the Viva Bolivia! written by Samuel Arce, and Combat and Victory, a military march by Francisco J. Molina, are among the best. Eduardo Berdecio is the author of the popular waltz Potosí, which is in great vogue, and he also wrote Tus Ojos,—“Thine Eyes,”—a very pretty waltz. José Lavadenz, Ercilia Fernandez, Juan J. Arana, Pedro Butrón, Dorado Belzu, Zenón Espinoza, G. Matienzo, and E. Ortega are young musicians with a promising future.

The intellectual progress of Bolivia has made most rapid strides within a very few years. There is much intellectual talent in the nation, and its expression needs only the encouragement which an interchange of thought and closer association with the outside world can give. Bolivia may yet produce Shakespeares, Michael Angelos, and Mozarts.