The writer Francisco Espínola (1901–73) suggests that, according to Joaquín Torres García (1874–1949), art was part of the religious life: “the mystery of art was, in his opinion, the mystery of life.” A somewhat well-worn statement, certainly, but one that nonetheless underscores how JTG was perceived by his inner circle. Espínola claims that JTG painted like (generic) Man, rather than as himself, thus providing a fundamental lesson that served as a moral lesson; as he also said: “The paradigm of an archetypal way of living.”
The lecturer discusses JTG’s living legacy. Espínola interprets the “misunderstanding” of the maestro’s teachings among a very small portion of the population of Montevideo as a resistance to the new, to the “other.” On this matter, he agrees with JTG’s own assessment. There are some extremely interesting references to “the doubt” that the maestro experienced at times, and his bewilderment concerning the abyss that was opened by his exploration of the language of art: “bleeding to death for a ghost is far more sublime than dying for a truth that has already been revealed.”
Espínola discusses how his generation responded to JTG’s invitation to take “a new look” at what was usually considered “classical art.” He describes how the maestro gave them permission to refuse to be seduced by “the figure” in order to grasp the structural meaning of the “classical style.” This revelation applied beyond painting itself and encouraged new ways to understand the same concept in other disciplines, from music to literature. What Espínola has to say about all this—as well the philosophical speculation prompted by his thinking about JTG’s work—helps to explain how the foundational generation of “the new criticism” of the 1940s responded to the legacy of the maestro. That is, they developed a style of criticism that was based on compassionate reflection and expressed in a lyrical tone that influenced many writers of that period.
[As complementary reading see, in the ICAA digital archive, the following articles written by Joaquín Torres García: “Con respecto a una futura creación literaria” (doc. no. 730292); “Lección 132. El hombre americano y el arte de América” (doc. no. 832022); “Mi opinión sobre la exposición de artistas norteamericanos: contribución” (doc. no. 833512); “Nuestro problema de arte en América: lección VI del ciclo de conferencias dictado en la Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de Montevideo” (doc. no. 731106); “Introducción [en] Universalismo Constructivo” (doc. no. 1242032); “Sentido de lo moderno [en Universalismo Constructivo]” (doc. no. 1242015); “Bases y fundamentos del arte constructivo” (doc. no. 1242058); and “Manifiesto 2, Constructivo 100%” (doc. no. 1250878)].