Boggiani, Guido

Guido Boggiani was an Italian painter, draftsman, photographer and ethnologist who, in 1887, ventured into the interior of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay to document the lives of the region's indigenous peoples. He was a disciple of Filippo Carcano. In 1883, he exhibited for the first time at the Palazzo delle Belle Arti in Rome. In 1884, he won the "Prince Umberto" prize. At the age of 26, Boggiani traveled to Argentina with the purpose of exhibiting his paintings. In Buenos Aires, he met several Italians living in Paraguay, and through their comments, he became fascinated with Paraguay, thus initiating his own documentary enterprise. In 1888, Boggiani arrived in Asunción with the intention of trading in livestock and hides. He later embarked on his first expedition to the Gran Chaco, reaching Puerto Casado. It was here that he had his first contact with the Guaná and Zanapaná indigenous groups. In 1893, he returned to Italy, taking with him a collection of anthropological interest about indigenous cultures and published books related to his experience. In 1896, he returned to Asunción, this time equipped with a photographic camera, tripod, and other equipment for developing glass plates. He was convinced that the only way to study these peoples was by living among them in their encampments. In 1901, Boggiani returned to Italy, and in August of that year, he set out for Puerto Casado to begin his final expedition in the Gran Chaco. He documented with his camera the Angaité, Leguas, Sanapanás, Caduveos, Tobas, Payaguás, Bororo and Chamacoco tribes. These tribes, with whom he lived directly, began to believe that the illnesses and diseases they suffered were due to the activities of the new "witch." He was last seen on October 24, 1901, alongside his laborer Félix Gavilán, as he left Asunción for the Gran Chaco. In Italy, he received recognition and awards. He was awarded the "Monaco di Baviera" gold medal. The Argentine Amateur Photographic Society (SFAA) published a series of portraits sent by Boggiani in 1904. They were also published by the Museum of Anthropology of La Plata. In 1989, a museum was founded in the city of San Lorenzo, Paraguay, bearing his name: the Guido Boggiani Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum.