In this text, Viennese historian and critic Walter Engel (1908–2005) identifies a number of phenomena underway at the time. He asserts the great importance and “historic” nature of certain art events, as opposed to the waning vitality of the Colombian Salón Nacional. The events that Engel mentions were initiatives of artists, such as poets Luis Vidales Jaramillo (1900–1990) and Jorge Gaitán Durán (1924–1962) in the case of the Salón de los Jóvenes; Alejandro Obregón in the case of the Salón de Arte Contemporáneo; and Catalan artist Rosés in conjunction with Colombian artist Julio Abril (1912–1979) in the case of the Salón de Arte Moderno. Faced with the lack of a government-sponsored salon that provided a forum for democratic debate, visual artists and writers decided to organize group shows in a questioning avant-garde spirit whose curatorial vision was greater than that of the seven earlier editions of the Salón Nacional, an event characterized by its mild and panoramic nature.
Engel also discusses the poor quality of the works exhibited in the salon and the fact that that event had been discredited. This edition of the salon—held after a three-year break—was organized by officials of President Laureano Gómez’s extremely conservative administration (in power from 1950–53); he was the successor to Mariano Ospina Pérez and a fellow member of the Conservative Party. Engel states that, for him, the question of the prizes awarded “continues to be a puzzle,” suggesting foul play. He cites two specific issues. First, it seems that the jury—whose members included the Ambassador of Spain under Franco—decided to award prizes by lot. The “losers” of the first prizes—Pedro Nel Gómez (1899–1984) and Josefina Albarracín de Barba—were not awarded second prizes but rather taken out of the running. Second, with no real justification, the sculpture prize was awarded to Moisés Vargas for a bust of President Laureano Gómez, whose government witnessed the heights of liberal-conservative violence.