Blankets (The covered women of Lima)

Julia Codesido was an important figure on the Lima art scene during the first half of the 20th century. Her long artistic career is associated with the Indigenism of José Sabogal, but also with Mexican muralism and, later, abstractionism.
In Mantas, we see in the foreground three women covered with angular blankets, while in the background a structure resembling a Lima convent can be distinguished.
Although the way in which the blankets cover the women’s heads suggests that they are following a bygone Lima fashion by covering their faces, the presence of a convent behind them indicates that they are lay sisters. At the same time, the way they are grouped together suggests dialogue; however, one of the women has sensed that they are being observed, and has turned her face towards the viewer.