Ancient Andean art has been recognized by both art historians and visual artists as one of the most important, accomplished and original artistic traditions of the pre-modern world. The interest in the aesthetic, cultural and intellectual value, as well as historical and documentary, of painting, sculpture and architecture, as well as textile and feather art and goldsmithing of the societies that developed in the Andes, from Chavín (and before) to the Incas, has been growing over time, especially since the middle of the twentieth century.