This text was written by Colombian poet, journalist and translator Eduardo Castillo (1889–1938), who used the pseudonym “El Caballero Duende.” He published many interviews with literary figures and artists under the title “Una hora con…” [One hour with…]. Francisco Antonio Cano (1865–1935) was a painter and sculptor who wrote about art. Cano, along with the group of academic artists to which he belonged, enjoyed widespread recognition in the artistic milieus of both Medellín and Bogotá. Between 1903 and 1906, he illustrated and published the journal Lectura y Arte.
Like other artists of his generation, Cano compared Colombia to other countries in the region in terms of interest in art, criticizing the government’s policy on art and indifference to art education. This state of affairs held back local artists compared to those from other countries, Cano asserts, and led to a failure to duly recognize the value of Colombian artists and, hence, the choice of foreign artists for commissions of public works.
As this interview evidences, even as late as 1927—when the interview took place—the academy exercised considerable influence on Colombian art. On the basis of the artists that Cano named as key to art history, it is clear that the most daring innovation deemed acceptable was Impressionism. Cano’s remarks are important in that he, along with certain other artists of his generation, played a major role as an art educator, first at his own studio, then as director and professor at the Instituto de Bellas Artes of Medellín (founded in 1910), and later (from 1923 to 1927) at the Escuela de Bellas Artes of Bogotá, where he served as professor and director.