In the unknown author’s opinion, the Mexican pictorial movement could only be understood through an awareness of the different artistic proposals that comprised it. He affirms that the aesthetic phenomenon was not individual, either in its origins or in its most triumphant manifestations; nevertheless, he notes a preference for certain artists that left others forgotten. He points out that in a country like Mexico—where the only patron is the State and where the public is completely indifferent—the preferences of the State dominate. This makes private contributions necessary. He mentions his own efforts to improve the situation and mentions the birth of the movement, which had the promotion of the arts as one of its objectives. He states that the activities of the ¡30-30! Group are prematurely frustrated because its subversive overtones made the movement appear to be more of a political movement—in this regard, he highlights the important role that the painter Fernando Leal played within the group. He characterizes him as a fierce, revolutionary agitator of multitudes; nevertheless, he considered Leal to be a painter who did not desire a dramatic triumph, but rather one who protested against the scant appreciation that many artists received. He notes some of the characteristics of Leal’s work, emphasizing that in order to create Mexican works, it was not necessary to plagiarize the pieces of native pre-Columbian Mexicans or the folk artists, nor to make art rooted in the European artistic styles. For the author of the note, the essence of Mexico exists in having something special, something that is specific to the mestizo sensibility. He affirms the abundance of painting that is Mexican in theme and technique; nevertheless, it is still far from being an expression that can be recognized as uniquely Mexican. Finally, he refers to the painter’s artistic career and achievements in order to conclude with the suggestion that a broader view must be taken of the Mexican pictorial panorama; until this happens, the vision will not be complete or uniform.

The article touches on various points relevant to the moment in which it was published. This is one of the few texts that referred to ¡30-30! Group shortly after its artistic-political struggle began in 1928. Also, it recognizes the fact that by the 1930s the three great painters—José Clemente Orozco (1883–1949), Diego Rivera (1886–1957), and David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896–1974)—had achieved hegemony in the Mexican art world, leaving other artists with long trajectories out of the running for official commissions. It should be noted that Fernando Leal (1896–1964) participated in the first great project of “mural decoration” at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria in 1922, commissioned by the Minister of Public Education, José Vasconcelos. Later, Leal would write an article on the situation entitled “El arte y los monstruos” [Art and the Monsters].