Lima artist dresses like ancestors to recreate old family portraits

An artist from Peru is reconnecting with his heritage in creative ways.

Christian Fuchs, 37, has been recreating old portraits of European and South American ancestors and nobility that he regularly saw in the home of his grandparents, where he was raised.

“I grew up with portraits and objects that had been in my family for up to five generations,” the Lima resident explained to BBC News.

As a child, Fuchs heard stories about his family, who are of German and Chilean heritage. His grandmother played a fundamental role in his interest in family genealogy.

“It was magical,” he told BBC World Service. “She told me about relatives like my granny’s great-grandmother, Marie Schencke, who also came from Germany. Her family brought electricity to the Chilean town, Osorno.”

Fuchs tried his hand at law school, but he eventually found himself spending time thinking about the portraits. It was then that he decided he would try to recreate them in a photograph.

His first project was to copy the portrait of his grandmother’s great-great-grandmother from the 1830s.

“I began to think, ‘Considering we share the same genes, could I actually look like her?’ That afternoon I went to the hairdresser and got them to put my hair up in ringlets. I thought it was a cool idea for a new project.”

Fuchs explained that the process to get into character can take many hours and isn’t always easy.

“It’s complicated because I have to wax,” he revealed to the BBC. “And I have tons of hair.”