Abstract

This article investigates the African and Afro-descendant presence in the history of Chile, based on the historical and visual study of the artistic heritage of the central-south zone of the country. As a result of an unpublished effort of synthesis, it presents a preliminary survey of the public and private collections that today safeguard works whose representations refer to subjects of African origin. A total of 139 two- and three-dimensional pieces are registered, categorized according to morphological, temporal, institutional and iconographic criteria. This makes it possible to account for their relevance both for the current Chilean identity and for the Afro-Latin American studies increasingly promoted in the region.