8/19/2019 Guido Boggiani

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/guido-boggiani 1/5

Guido Boggiani 1

Guido Boggiani

Guido Boggiani

Born 20 Sept 1861

Omegna, Italy

Died 7 May 1902

La Victoria, Paraguay

Fields Ethnology

Institutions Chaco, Paraguay

Alma mater Brera Academy, Milan

Guido Boggiani (1861 € 1902) was an Italian painter, picture drawer, photographer, and ethnologist who in 1887

traveled through the interior of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay to document the lives of Indians in the region. Now

hailed as a "pioneer of fieldwork"[1] in Italian ethnology, he was ritually killed by natives in 1902.

Early years, ItalyGuido Boggiano was born on 20 September 1861 in Omegna (Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola) to Giuseppe

Boggiani and Clelia Gen€. From his father, Giuseppe inherited a passion for the arts, especially painting. When he

was 17, and after studying general culture, Boggiani went to the Brera Academy (Milan) to study painting. He was

taught by Filippo Carcano, becoming a prominent painter. In 1883 Boggiani exhibited for the first time in Palazzo

delle Belle Arte (Rome), and his painting della raccolta castagne was acquired by the National Museum of Modern

Art in Rome for about 6,000 pounds, a price considered high at that time.

In 1887, when 26, Boggiani undertook a journey to Argentina in order to show his paintings. In Buenos Aires he met

several Italians who lived in Paraguay, and through the comments made, especially on the areas of Chaco and

indigenous peoples, his fascination with Paraguay started.

Later years, Paraguay

In 1888 Boggiani went to Asunci•n intending to trade in cattle and hides, then began his first expedition in the Gran

Chaco. With the efforts of Don Juan De Cominges he reached Puerto Casado. Here he made his first contact with the

Chamacoco Indians. He returned to Italy in 1893, bringing a collection of artifacts of great anthropological value,

and started writing books based on his experiences.

In 1896 he returned to Asunci•n. This time equipped with a camera, tripod and all the elements for the development

of glass plates, he was convinced that photography was the only way to study these peoples living in their little huts.

Since his subjects may well have believed that his photographs were robbing them of their souls, this was a

dangerous occupation. In the end, besides his many books, his photographs (more than 500 were made from 1896 to1901) earned him and the subjects of his art the interest and admiration of a wider audience; part of his collection

8/19/2019 Guido Boggiani

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/guido-boggiani 2/5

Guido Boggiani 2

was subsequently acquired by the Ethnological Museum of Berlin.

Boggiani was last seen by urban society on October 24, 1901, along with his assistant F€lix Gavilan, when he left

Asunci•n towards the Gran Chaco. In October 1902 Boggiani wrote for the last time to his brother Oliveira, writing

of details of the expedition. It wasn't until 1904 that the Italian community of Asunci•n organized an expedition, led

by the Spanish explorer Jos€ Fernandez Cancio, and on 20 October 1904 found the remains of Boggiano with his

skull destroyed. It is supposed that the Chamacoco had split his head to prevent Boggiani and his camera fromexerting more harm to their souls; in 1902 the  American Anthropologist reported he had been killed "presumably at

the hands of the Tobas Indians."[2] His camera was found buried, and it is assumed many negatives too are buried.

The actual remains of Boggiani are in a tomb in the Italian cemetery of Asunci•n.

Boggiani's work could be saved thanks to the Czech explorer and botanist Alberto Vojt‚ch Friƒ (1882 € 1944), who

went to Paraguay a few years later and was able to recover all his belongings, thanks to his good relations with the

natives. His grandson, Pavel Friƒ, later succeeded in developing all of the photographs, and the collection is

reproduced in Guido Boggiani, Photographer (1997).

Awards, honors

In Italy Boggiani was awarded, among others, the gold medal "Monaco di Bavaria." A museum in the town of San

Lorenzo (Paraguay) bears his name, the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography Guido Boggiani.

Bibliography

Works by Boggiani

„  Notizie etnografiche sulla trib€ dei Ciamacoco, etc. Atti della Societ… Romana di Antropologia. vol. 2. Rome:

Societ… Romana per l'Antropologia, 1894.

„  I Ciamacoco. Rome: Societ… Romana per l'Antropologia, 1894.

„ With Vittorio Bott†go. Viaggi di scoperta nel cuore dell'Africa: Il Giuba esplorata. Rome: Loescher, 1895.„  I Caduvei (Mbay• o Guaicur‚). Viaggio d'un artista nell'America Meridionale. Romer: Ermanno Loescher, 1895.

„ Os Caduveo. Translated and annotated. Biblioteca hist•rica brasileira 14. S‡o Paulo: Livraria Martins Editˆra,

1945.

„ Tatuaggio o pittura? Studio intorno ad una curiosa usanza delle popolazioni indigene dell'antico Peru. Rome:

Stabilimento Tipografico G. Civelli, 1895. (Extract from Atti del IIo Congresso Geografico Italiano, Roma, 22-27

settembre 1895.)

„ Vocabolario dell'idioma ciamacoco. Extract from Atti della Societ… Romana per l'Antropologia; 2:1. Rome: 1894.

„ Vocabolario dell'idioma ciamacoco. Rev. ‰estmŠr Loukotka. Buenos Aires, "Coni", 1929.

„ Vocabolario dell'idioma guan•. (ƒ comune anche alle trib€ Ciapuchi, € Sanapana, €  Angaite €e Lengua o Petegme„, e

 forse anche alla Pilaga €o Pitipaga) €. Memoria di Guido Boggiani. Atti della R. Accademia dei Lincei. Rome, 1895.

„  Apuntes sueltos de la lengua de los indios caduveos del Chaco paraguayo. Buenos Aires: Impr. y Papeleria La

Buenos Aires, 1897.

„  Nei dintorni di Corumb… (Brasile). Roma, Presso la Societ… geografica italiana, 1897.

„  La Questione dei confini tra le repubbliche del Paraguay e della Bolivia. Roma, Presso la Societ… geografica

italiana, 1897.

„ "EtnografŠa del Alto Paraguay" 1898.

„ "Guaicur‹. Su nombre, posici•n geogrŒfica, reporte €tnico y lingŠstico en la Am€rica Meridional". 1898.

„ "En favor de los indios Chamacocos" 1898.

„ "Los chamacocos"„ "Vocabulario del idioma chamacoco"

„ "Los indios caigua del Alto ParanŒ (Misiones)"

8/19/2019 Guido Boggiani

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/guido-boggiani 3/5

Guido Boggiani 3

„  Discusiones sobre filolog†a etnogr•fica y geograf†a hist‡rica. Asunci•n: Guido Boggiani, 1899.

„ Sobre ortograf†a de nombres geogr•ficos guaran†es. Buenos Aires, Imprenta y litografŠa "La Buenos Aires,"

1899.

„ Compendio de etnografia Paraguaya moderna. Asunci•n, 1900.

Works on Boggiani„ Bertelli, Antonio de Padua. Os indios cavaleiros Guaycurus: fatos e acontecidos entre 1526 - 1986 no Pantanal

do Mato Grosso. S‡o Paulo: Uyara, 1987. In Portuguese.

„  Boggiani y el Chaco: una aventura del siglo XIX: fotograf†as de la colecci‡n Friˆ. Buenos Aires: Museo de Arte

Hispanoamericano Isaac FernŒndez Blanco, 2002.

„ Bonati, Isabella. Guido Boggiani: Orme nell'ignoto. Turin: Il Tucano, 2006. ISBN 8888473106. In Italian.

„ Comitato Pro-Boggiani (Asunci•n). Alla ricerca di Guido Boggiani. Spedizione Cancio nel Ciaco Boreale, Alto

 Paraguay. Relazione e documenti. Milano: Bontempelli, 1903.

„ Diaz-Perez, Viriato, and Ra‹l Amarai. Coronario di Guido Boggiani. Palma de Mallorca: Luis Ropoli, 1977.

ISBN 8485048350.

„ Friƒ, Pavel, and Yvonna FriƒovŒ, eds. Guido Boggiani: Fotograf / Fotografo / Fot‡grafo / Photographer. Prague:Titanic, 1997. ISBN 80-85909-25-1. A large-format book with prints and also text in Czech, Italian, Spanish,

Portuguese, and English.

„ Friƒ, Pavel, and Yvonna FriƒovŒ, eds. Guido Boggiani Fotografo. Lisbon: Museo Nacional de Etnologia, 2001.

ISBN 9727760899. In Portuguese.

„ Lehmann-Nitsche, Robert, ed. La Colecci‡n Boggiani de Tipos Indigenas de Sudam‰rica Central / Die Sammlung

 Boggiani von Indianentypen ause dem zentralen SŠdamerika. Buenos Aires: R. Rosauer, 1904. A series of 100

postcards on those originating Paraguayans, which included a supplement of 12 naked special reserved for

scientists.

„ Leigheb, Maurizio. Lo sguardo del viaggiatore: vita e opere di Guido Boggiani. Novara: Interlinea, 1997. ISBN

8882121356.„ Leigheb, Maurizio, ed. Guido Boggiani: Pittore, esplatore, etnografo. Novara, 1986. Torino: Regione Piemonte,

1986.

„ Leigheb, Maurizio, and Lino Cerutti, eds. Guido Boggiani • la vita i viaggio le opere: atti del Convegno

internazionale, Novara, 8-9 marzo 1985 Novara: Banca Popolare di Novara, 1992.

„ Pettazzoni, Raffaele. In Memoria di Guido Boggiani. Rome: Centro italiano di studi americani, 1941.

„ Scotti, Pietro. I contributi americanistici di Guido Boggiani. Genova, Libreria degli studi, 1955.

„ Scotti, Pietro. La seconda spedizione di Guido Boggiani fra i Caduv‹i (1897). Genova: Libreria degli studi, 1963.

„ Viviani, Alberto. Guido Boggiani: alla scoperta del Gran Chaco. Turin: Paravia, 1951.

„ Vangelista, Chiara. "Un pittore etnografo e mercante: Scambi commerciali e osservazioni etnografiche di Guido

Boggiani durante un viaggio tra i Cadiueu." In Fedora Giordano and Alberto Guaraldo (ed. and introd.), Gliindiani d'America e l'Italia, II. Alessandria, Italy: Orso, 2002. 61-77.

8/19/2019 Guido Boggiani

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/guido-boggiani 4/5

Guido Boggiani 4

References

[1] Vinigi Grottanelli, et al. "Ethnology and/or Cultural Anthropology in Italy: Traditions and Development. Current Anthropology 18.4 (1977):

593-614, p. 595

[2] "Guido Boggiani", American Anthropologist n.s. 4 (1902): 568

External links„ Abel, Alexander. " El arte de robar el alma a los indios (http:/   /  www. clarin. com/  suplementos/  zona/  2002/  11/ 

17/  z-00601. htm)". Clar†n, 17 November 2002. (Spanish)

„ Giordano, Mariana. " El hombre de la cŒmara (http:/   /  www. pagina12. com. ar/  imprimir/  diario/  suplementos/ 

radar/  9-472-2002-11-11. html)". P•gina 12, 10 November 2002. (Spanish)

„ Machado, Alvaro. " Hell and Heaven in Chaco: Guido Boggiani's History (http:/   /  web. archive. org/  web/ 

20021212053249/  http:/   /  opera-prima. com/  guidoenglish. html)". Article with sample images. Via Wayback.

(English)

„ Supplementary images (http:/   /  web.archive. org/  web/  20021221135538/  opera-prima. com/  galeriaguido.

html). Via Wayback.

„ Pesis, HernŒn. " El trŒgico final del fot•grafo (http:/   /  www. leedor. com/  notas/  1406---guido_boggiani. html)". Leedor, 13 October 2005. (Spanish)

8/19/2019 Guido Boggiani

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/guido-boggiani 5/5

Article Sources and Contributors 5

Article Sources and ContributorsGuido Boggiani  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=438658165 Contributors: Aboutmovies, BD2412, Bearcat, Berny68, CommonsDelinker, Drmies, Eleefecosta, Gampe,Hoary, Ian Spackman, Jatayou, Monegasque, Vero83alvarez, Yaninaarce

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Guido Boggiani portrait.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Guido_Boggiani_portrait.jpg  License: Public Domain Contributors: unknown Guido Boggiani ?

License

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported //creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/