Fernando de Szyszlo sent this open letter to the editor of Cultura Peruana magazine in response to the article by journalist Jesús Manual Orbegozo that was published in this same magazine (Lima, December 1955). Szyszlo denied the declarations attributed to him in the interview, and believed they were a product of Orbegozo’s malice [toward him]. Although this was not the first incident of this type that had occurred to him, [Szyszlo] reaffirmed his confidence in the good faith of people.

In this open letter, Fernando de Szyszlo (b. 1925) denied the declarations attributed to him in the article “Entrevista concreta a un pintor abstracto,” written by journalist Manuel Jesús Orbegozo (b. 1923) on the occasion of the painter’s triumph at the III Salón de Pintura Manual Moncloa in 1955. [See ICAA digital archive for the article by Manuel Jesús Orbegozo “Entrevista concreta a un pintor abstracto” (doc. no. 1227120)]. The Salón prize was then the most influential within the Peruvian arts scene. The article was published in December of that year in Cultura Peruana, and is of singular importance because of the long-lasting repercusson of the declarations it contained. Szyszlo had played a key role in the defense and dissemination of abstract art since his return to Lima (in 1951), both through his own work and his contentious zeal that sparked debate (see the ICAA digital archive article “Dice Fernando Syszlo que no hay pintores en el Perú ni América: el joven pintor peruano declara sentir su pintura y la de los demás pero no puede explicarla” (no author) (doc. no. 1137793)]. The success of “non-figurative” art shows its growing importance within the Lima arts scene, especially considering that the previous year’s prize had been awarded to Alfredo Ruiz Rosas (1926-2002), a painter of the social realism trend. This was another event that marked the era, and one that generated its own debate. [For more on this topic see the following: by Orbegozo, “Un ‘pan’ común, de todos los días, amasado por Alfredo Ruiz Rosas, ganó diez mil soles” (doc. no. 859785); by Luis Miró Quesada Garland “En blanca y negra…” (doc. no. 859805), “En blanca y negra” (doc. no. 859826), “Sobre un arte integral…” (doc. no. 1227195), and “Sobre un arte integral” (doc. no. 859917); by Alejandro Romualdo “Sobre un arte integral (respuesta al arquitecto Luis Miró Quesada G.)” (doc. no. 1227139), “Sobre un arte integral : punto final” (doc. no. 1227176), and “Ruiz Rosas y un arte integral” (doc. no. 1227027)]. Although figurative artists had boycotted the III Salón Moncloa, the higher participation by abstract artists is evidence of the trend’s success among young artists, a fact later confirmed by the I Salón de Arte Abstracto in 1958.