The Death of Pizarro

What it is

This is a black-and-white halftone reproduction, published in August 1925, of a painting by the Peruvian painter Teófilo Castillo, titled 'La muerte de Pizarro'. The reproduction shows a dim outdoor scene with trees: a figure lies on the ground in the foreground, while a standing figure in a light hat is at center right and other figures appear near a doorway. The caption that accompanied the print says the painting was in the private office of President Leguía and was destroyed in the fire at the Palace in 1921. It also says Castillo died in Buenos Aires two years earlier.

Why it matters

Pizarro was killed in 1541 in a violent attack by rivals and conspirators, and later artists returned to that scene. Castillo's painting shows how a 20th-century Peruvian artist imagined the conquistador's death, and the image survives only through reproductions like this one.

Look closer

• Who is lying on the ground, and which figures seem to be attacking?
• Why might a newspaper or magazine in 1925 print a picture of a painting that had already been destroyed?
• What does the scene leave out about the causes of the conflict, such as the rivalries among the conquerors?