Francisco Laso
(1823 - 1869)

 

José Francisco Domingo Laso de la Vega y de los Ríos was a Peruvian painter and politician. During his lifetime he was mostly known for his portraits, but is now better known for creating works that were precursors to indigenismo in art.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Laso

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenismo

The Three Races or Equality before the Law
1859
Oil on canvas
105 x 81 cm
MALI, Museo de Arte de Lima, Peru

Three persons—of Indigenous, African, and European descent—sit around a table, quietly absorbed in a game of cards. Laso, a Peruvian painter known for his early explorations of national identity, presents this ordinary scene with a quietly radical message: shared space, shared rules, and shared attention suggest a vision of equality more intimate than idealized. The game is never named, but everyone is playing.