Bolivia: Teresa Gisbert
Born in 1926 in La Paz, Bolivia, Teresa Gisbert was one of the first women to graduate from the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz (1950), where she earned a diploma in architecture and urbanism. She relocated to Spain to attend graduate school in art history, and worked for the University of Seville. She returned to Bolivia (1954) where she taught Bolivian art history and culture, American art history, and helped establish the history department at the Higher University of San Andres. Between 1987 and 1995, Gisbert served as a guest lecturer at several distinguished institutions worldwide, including the University of Paris (Paris, France); the Bolivian campus of the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales; the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico (San Juan, Puerto Rico); and the Cultural Institute of Ecuador. During this period, she also held a professorship at the Universidad Católica Boliviana in La Paz.
Gisbert was director of the National Art Museum in La Paz (1970–1976). She was appointed director of the Bolivian Cultural Institute in La Paz (1985–1989). Gisbert served as president of the Bolivian Society for History (1983–1984) and of the International Council on Monuments and Sites in Bolivia (1986–1992). She was also a member of the College of Architects of Bolivia, the Bolivian Academy of History, the National Academy of Sciences of Bolivia, the Bolivarian Architect Society, and the Chilean Academy of History. As a prolific scholar, her numerous publications include Arte, Poder, e Identidad (2016), El Paraiso de los Pájaros Parlantes (1999), Historia de la vivienda y los asentamientos humanos en Bolivia (1988), Arte Textil y Mundo Andino (1987), Iconografía y Mitos Indígena en el Arte (1980), and Bolivia: Monumentos históricos y arqueológicos (1970). Gisbert was awarded a National Culture Prize in Bolivia (1995), an Order of the Condor of the Andes issued by the Bolivian government (1987), a Medal of Merit issued by the Spanish government (1965), Woman of the Year in La Paz, Bolivia (1965), and two Guggenheim Fellowships (1958 and 1967). She died in 2018 in La Paz.
References
Bouysse-Cassagne, Thérèse. “In Memoriam: Teresa Gisbert (1926–2018).” Chungara: Revista de Antropología Chilena 50, no. 4 (2018): 529–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0717-73562018005002501.
Bouysse Cassagne, Thérèse. “Teresa Gisbert (1926–2018): Pionera de los estudios de mestizaje.” Journal de la Société des américanistes 110, no. 2 (December 17, 2024): 171–88. https://doi.org/10.4000/13hks.
García, Carla Guillermina. “Lo nacional y lo mestizo. Una lectura sobre las actuaciones de José de Mesa y Teresa Gisbert en el ámbito cultural paceño (1952–1956).” Iberoamericana América Latina – España – Portugal 23, no. 82 (March 29, 2023): 193–216. https://doi.org/10.18441/ibam.23.2023.82.193-216.
“Gisbert Carbonell de Mesa, Teresa (1926–).” Encyclopedia. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/gisbert-carbonell-de-mesa-teresa-1926.
Gisbert, Teresa. Historia de la vivienda y los asentamientos humanos en Bolivia. Publicación / Instituto Panamericano de Geografía e Historia ; no. 431. Mexico, Distrito Federal: Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Bolivia, 1988.
Gisbert, Teresa. Iconografía y mitos indígenas en el arte. 1a ed. La Paz, Bolivia (Apartado 195, La Paz, Bolivia): Gisbert, 1980.
Gisbert, Teresa, and José de Mesa. La virgen María en Bolivia : la dialéctica barroca en la representación de María. Bolivia: Unión Latina, 2002.
Gisbert, Teresa, Menil Collection, Allen Center of Houston., and Meadows Museum. Bolivian masterpi[e]ces : colonial painting. 1st ed. La Paz, Bolivia: Secretariat of Culture, 1994.
Mesa, José de, and Teresa Gisbert. Historia de la pintura cuzqueña. Nueva ed. Lima: Fundación A.N. Wiese, 1982.
Mesa, José de, and Teresa Gisbert. Monumentos de Bolivia. 2a. ed. La Paz: Gisbert, 1978.
Mesa, José de, and Teresa Gisbert. Museos de Bolivia : nacional, Moned, Charcas, Catedral de Sucre, Murillo : Pintura. [1a. ed.]. La Paz: Fodo Nacional de cultura, ministerio de Información, Cultura y Turismo, 1969.
Mujica Pinilla, Ramón. “In Memoriam Teresa Gisbert (1926–2018).” Colonial Latin American Review 27, no. 3 (July 3, 2018): 426–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/10609164.2018.1527577.
Rivera Casanovas, Claudia. “Teresa Gisbert y la Arqueología Andina.” Chungará, 50, no. 4 (2018): 533-536. doi:10.4067/S0717-73562018005002601.
“Episode 116: Teresa Gisbert.” She Builds Podcast. Accessed January 28, 2026. https://www.shebuildspodcast.com/episodes/teresagisbert.
Shkurovich, Denise. “Gisbert, Teresa.” Dictionary of Art Historians (website). https://arthistorians.info/gisbertt/.
“Teresa Gisbert de Mesa.” John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.gf.org/fellows/teresa-gisbert-de-mesa/.
