In his essay about the vast subject of art criticism in Chile from 1950 to 1973, Patricio Muñoz Zárate highlights the field’s defining moments, milestones, and notable personalities. In a series of subchapters, he sheds light on the key events that contributed to the development and revitalization of Chilean art criticism in the twentieth century: the crisis at the Academia de Bellas Artes and the emergence of the Escuela de Bellas Artes, as well as the launching of the Revista de Arte. He also mentions the establishment of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MAC) and the founding of the Escuela de Artes de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, both landmark steps that prompted responses in the local art world and academia, which in turn led to discussions about the expressive needs of art criticism. All these factors, over time, contributed to the maturing of the field.

Chile 100 años de artes visuales was an exhibition organized in the year 2000 by the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (MNBA) that sought to present a continuum of Chilean art produced in the twentieth century. Guided by those objectives, the curatorial plan emphasized certain basic approaches. This exhibition was divided into three chronological sections: the first stage, “Modelo y representación” [Model and Representation], spanned the period from 1900 to 1950; the second, “Entre modernidad y utopia” [Between Modernity and Utopia], covered 1950 to 1973 (when democracy was interrupted); and the final period, “Transferencia y densidad” [Transfer and Density], spanned 1973 to 2000.

The essay “El comportamiento de la crítica” [The Behavior of the Critics] appeared in the catalogue for this exhibition and belongs in the second period, “Entre modernidad y utopia.” It includes a number of milestones, such as a move to challenge the limits of the work of art and a search for new forms of visual expression, the conscience of modern painting, and the association of artists with the social and political environment in which they worked.

The author of the essay, Patricio Muñoz Zárate, has a degree in aesthetics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He is also a curator, art theorist, and a professor of Latin American contemporary art.  

[See the ICAA Digital Archive for other essays published in the same catalogue: “Escultura chilena 1950–1973” (doc. no. 757161) written by Gaspar Galaz; and  “Historias de recolección: bricolage, archivo y biblioteca” [Collection Stories: Bricolage, Archive, and Library] (doc. no. 745864) by Alberto Madrid Letelier.