Max Grillo (1868–1949), an attorney, poet, diplomat, and senator, founded the Revista Gris [Gray Magazine] in 1892 in order to promote the innovative work of modernists in Colombia. He was also an important art critic.
In this article he expresses a view that had gained widespread support in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when people began to question traditional academic models. Grillo describes the role of aesthetics in painting, and claims that distinct from literature, in which the book is a vehicle that goes to the reader, the visual arts are experienced by viewers who must go to where the works are exhibited. According to him, that relationship creates the necessary foundation for the production of good art.
At an aesthetic level, there is another key aspect involved: the sensitivity required to experience expressions of the spirit. Grillo appreciates that a work of art can suggest several different readings rather than limiting a viewer’s options to just one. His remarks imply a critique of works that seek to present a faithful copy of reality; that is, those that reveal the technical skill of the artist, but say nothing about his particular subjective interpretation. Grillo appreciates artists who take a different approach to light and color, which implies an appreciation of the Impressionists, who were considered antiacademic painters.
In Grillo’s opinion, very few Colombian artists are able to work with the modern aesthetic. He believes that Ricardo Acevedo Bernal (1867–1930) is one of them, and suggests that he should therefore seek to develop his talent and expand his horizons through exposure to the good art of the European masters. Acevedo Bernal, as it happens, died in Italy.