Retrato de Simón Bolivar

The drama, turbulence and excitement of political life in Latin America in the first half of the nineteenth century was met with a positive response in the visual arts. Artists produced works that were not only authentic historical documents but also integral parts in the construction of a new national identity. As a result, representations of the heroes and martyrs of the Independence movements in the Spanish colonies of America have become talismans and icons today. Hence, the current portrait of Simón Bolivar which was painted as a tribute to a national hero, el "Libertador".