Latin American Visual Arts, Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries

Exposé Politique & international Sciences politiques

Date de publication :

02/04/2008

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Français

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.doc

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7 pages

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Virgen de la Merced. José Gil de Castro (1785 - 1841). 1820
Pedro Jose Figueroa, Simon Bolivar, Liberator and father of the nation, 1819, oil on canvas, Quinta de Bolivar, Colombia
Diego Rivera. (Mexican, 1886-1957). Agrarian Leader Zapata. 1931

Résumé :

In order to identify specific allegories and attributes used in nineteenth and twentieth century latin american visual arts, one first needs to come back to the original meaning of these two words. An allegory comes from the Greek words "other", and, "to speak in public". Therefore, this origin of the word means that it is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal. Allegory is generally treated as a figure of rhetoric. It may be addressed to the eye, and is often found in realistic painting, sculpture or some other form of mimetic, or representative art. Moreover, an attribute is linked to this notion of allegory as it is often an object that identifies a figure, in other words, its function is to represent and give meaning. The objects in this case represent symbols which are known by the public who will understand the general meaning of the painting. One may add that an attribute is most commonly referring to objects held by saints. However, even if these two notions were used originally in religious artworks, one can find them in many other different artworks. Indeed, allegory and attributes are not only used to represent a religious scene taken from the Bible, they can be used for other purposes such as giving information on the seater in a portrait for example. In this particular case, attributes will be given to him so that the spectator can recognize his rank, social status, his education, and also his family background. This has been developed by many European artists from the nineteenth century onwards. However, what will raise our interest in this essay is specifically the use of allegory and attributes by latin american artists.
Indeed, the specifically latin american features or qualities which can be identified in the artworks vary enormously as there are, on the one hand, artists who work in a more or less representational mode, producing images with specifically latin american themes, where the national symbols are explicit and on the other hand, some works of art which have an echo or evocation of colonial paintings . In other words, this ambiguity between creativity and influence is crucial to the understanding of the different uses of allegory and attributes by latin american artists. Indeed, the four different artworks chosen here will show the very distinct aim that artists had in mind when using allegory. Whereas the first painting, Virgen de la Merced by Gil de Castro uses religious attributes to convey specific emotions and ideas, the second one, Simon Bolivar, Liberator and father of the nation by Pedro Jose Figueroa is presenting an allegory of the republic through the shape of an indigenous woman. The third one, Agrarian Leader Zapata by Diego Rivera is using allegory and attributes to celebrate Mexico's indigenous culture, and to teach the nation's people about both their own history and the new government's dreams for their future. Finally, the last artwork chosen is Botero's Lady of Columbia, which is playing with codified attributes present in Colonial painting.