Loreto Street, Cusco

Early in the twentieth century, Indian culture and traditions became the touchstone of nationalist discourse. While Indigenist pictorial activity was concentrated in Lima, the photography of indigenous subjects developed mostly in Cusco and the southern Andes. Chambi was a key figure in this process. Accordingly, the photographer would devote the greater part of his career documenting the different aspects of the city of Cusco, becoming one of the greatest modern interpreters of the ancient city of the Incas. In such a context, this image in perspective of Loreto Street is a true masterpiece. His skill in chiaroscuro served him in this case to capture the geometric rigor of Inca masonry.