Following the 1971 retrospective of works by the Colombian artist Andrés de Santa María (1860–1945) at the Museo de Arte Moderno [Museum of Modern Art] in Bogotá, a number of critics and art historians began to reevaluate his work in light of modern theories of art, and classified him as the “forerunner” of modern painting in Colombia.
In this essay, the art historian Germán Rubiano Caballero (b. 1938) breaks new ground by criticizing standard opinions on Santa María’s work. As distinct from the indulgent criticism of later years, Rubiano Caballero takes a harsh look at the artist’s work and disputes persistent myths concerning his styles and artistic qualities.
Andrés de Santa María was born in Bogotá on December 16, 1860; he was taken to Europe when he was two years old and from then on lived in England, France, and Belgium. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Paris, and lived in Colombia for two short periods, during which time he was a teacher and director at the School of Fine Arts in Bogotá. In 1904 his work became the subject of early discussions about Impressionism (see “El Impresionismo en Bogotá I” [Impressionism in Bogota I], doc. no. 1080092, and “El Impresionismo en Bogotá II” [Impressionism in Bogota II], doc. no. 1079572). Santa María settled in Brussels in 1911, and never returned to Colombia. He died in Brussels on April 29, 1945 (see “Andrés de Santa María (Galería de Arte)” [Andrés de Santa María (Art Gallery)], doc. no. 1094300).