Guzmán Bustamante, started off as a sculptor and continued as a painter. He was an outstanding student of Antonio Smith and Alejandro Ciccarelli. From a young age, he dedicated himself to painting and at 25 years old he participated in the Chilean International Exhibition of 1875. He was also noted for having done deep studies on artistic anatomy, always excelling in realistic artistic compositions.
The oil on canvas called Hundimiento de la Esmeralda con sus tripulantes en el Combate Naval de Iquique (The Sinking of Emeralda with its crew in the Naval Combat of Iquique), painted in 1882; won first medal and the second prize for oil on canvas called La muerte de Pedro de Valdivia (The death of Pedro de Valdivia). His pictures, where he stood out thanks to his discrete coloring and historical correctness. His impeccable drawing allowed him to distribute the characters in the rectangle of the canvas with masterly plastic wisdom.
Hundimiento de la Esmeralda con sus tripulantes en el Combate Naval de Iquique was destroyed by the earthquake of 1906 Valparaíso, that caused a fire at the Victoria Theater where this artistic work was exhibited.[2]
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