“Grupo ‘Montparnasse’ José Perotti, o un diálogo en la Casa Rivas y Calvo” by Jean Emar (1893–1964) is an interview with the painter José Perotti (1898–1956), a member of the Grupo Montparnasse. It was published in the “Notas de arte” section of the newspaper La Nación in response to a program in which the Chilean critic sought to promote the work of the Montparnasse group. In his first publication on the Grupo Montparnasse (doc. no. 750202), written on the occasion of the group’s first exhibition, Emar said that, rather than writing critiques, he preferred to create spaces where painters could discuss art and new ways of painting. [For some perspective on the group’s place in the evolution of Chilean art, see the following in the ICAA Digital Archive: “La historia y sus carencias. Introducción” (doc. no. 756093) by Guillermo Machuca.]
Jean Emar or Juan Emar is the pseudonym used by the writer, painter, and art critic Álvaro Yáñez Bianchi, which is derived from the French expression J'en ai marre (I’m fed up). After living in Paris for years he returned to Chile at the beginning of the 1920s and from 1923–27 published the “Notas de arte” a column, tirelessly promoting a renewal of traditional Chilean trends in the fields of education and criticism, determined to improve the public’s sense of “taste.” Emar’s main goal was to promote the dissemination and acceptance of modern art. As a painter, his most productive period spanned the late 1940s though the late 1950s, that is, decades after he began his career as a critic. In the literary field, however, he published his first novel, Torcuato, in 1917; he was influential in local circles in the mid-1930s with Miltín 1934, Ayer (Yesterday), and Un año (One Year), which, as with his painting, suggested a new way of writing in the face of dominant codes. His style was reminiscent of works by the poet Vicente Huidobro (1893–1948), whom he interviewed for his column (doc. no. 750240).
He demonstrated his desire for change by joining the Grupo Montparnasse, which challenged the academicism that was the dominant force in Chilean painting at the time. The group made its first public appearance in 1923 with an exhibition at the Casa de Remates Rivas y Calvo in Santiago. Participants on that occasion included the painter Henriette Petit (1894–1983); the painter and sculptor José Perotti (1898–1956); the painter Julio Ortiz de Zárate (1885–1946), who was considered part of the Generación del ’13; and the painter Luis Vargas Rosas (1897–1977), the founder. Two years later, at a new exhibition held at the same venue, the list of participants included Mori and the painters Manuel Ortiz de Zárate (1887–1946), Isaías Cabezón (1891–1963), Augusto Eguiluz (1893–1969), Romano de Dominicis, Sara Malvar (1894–1970), and Hernán Gazmuri. The exhibition also presented a collection of calligrams created by the poet Vicente Huidobro (1893–1948) and works by European Cubists. A notable feature of the second exhibition, “Salón de Junio o Primer Salón de Arte Libre,” was the inclusion of Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), Juan Gris (1887–1927), Jacques Lipchitz (1891–1973), Fernand Léger (1881–1955), and Louis Marcoussis (1878–1941) in the list of participants. [For information about members of the group, see “La pintura de Hernán Gazmuri” (doc. no. 750435) by Antonio Romera, “Confesión artística” (doc. no. 748526) by Camilo Mori, and “Con Vicente Huidobro” by Emar.]
