Ver y estimar [To See and Ponder] magazine was an editorial endeavor directed by Jorge Romero Brest (1905–89) that stimulated critical thought and promoted the renewal of artistic languages, in line with its cirector’s modernizing vision. It was published thirty-four times between April 1948 and December 1953. Following an interruption that lasted a few months, publication was resumed and the magazine appeared ten more times before the second phase of its existence ended in October 1955. Damián Carlos Bayón (1915–1995) was the editor-in-chief.
Jorge Romero Brest was a professor, critic, and promoter of the visual arts in Argentina. During the first regime of Juan Domingo Perón (1895–1974) he was relieved of his academic duties and became the Director of Ver y estimar magazine. Later on, the de facto government that overthrew Perón on September 16, 1955, which called itself the Revolución Libertadora [Liberating Revolution], named Romero Brest the Controller of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes of Buenos Aires. In 1956 he became the director of the museum, a post he held until 1963. During the 1960s he headed the Centro de Artes Visuales del Instituto Torcuato Di Tella [Torcuato Di Tella Institute’s Center for Visual Arts]. The Ver y estimar [To See and Consider] editorial project was undertaken with the support of his disciples—one of which was Beatriz Huberman—as an offshoot of the art history classes that Romero Brest taught after being removed from his position as professor by those in power during the Peronist regime.
This article was chosen because it shows the interest shown by members of the editorial board of Ver y estimar magazine in spreading the word about what modern art was doing; especially when the words in question were written by internationally known artists. The content of this article is related to “Algo más sobre el mismo tema: II Piet Mondrian” [Something Else on the Same Subject: II Piet Mondrian (document no. 742979)], and “Algo más sobre el mismo tema: I Wassily Kandinsky” [Something Else on the Same Subject: I Wassily Kandinsky (document no. 743019)], which were based on Max Bill’s article “El pensamiento matemático en el arte de nuestro tiempo” [Mathematical Thinking in the Art of Our Time] (which can also be found in document no. 743007).
