The Deputy Bernardo O'Higgins in the Congress of 1811

What it is

This work, by Fernando Arrau Corominas, is titled El Diputado Bernardo O'Higgins en el Congreso de 1811. The image in the archive is a book cover. It shows a faded portrait of a man with reddish hair, a dark coat and a bow tie, and beside it a faded engraving of a large colonnaded building with domes and a flag, with people and carriages in the street. The catalogue treats the work as a secondary source made long after the event.

Why it matters

The 1811 Congress was one of the early meetings in which Chileans debated self-government while the Spanish monarchy was in crisis. Showing O'Higgins as a deputy presents him as a political figure before he became a military leader. Later artists and writers often chose such scenes to explain how the nation's founders came to power.

Look closer

• Why might a later artist place a portrait and a building together on one cover?
• What does the street scene suggest about public life in the city where the Congress met?
• What does this image not show, such as the debates or the people who disagreed with O'Higgins?