This article includes a collection of remarks made by a number of Spanish and Mexican critics on the occasion of the exhibition of works by the caricaturist Eduardo Robles “Ras” at the Ateneo Español de México. The critic Margarita Nelken, who was living in exile in Mexico, describes his strokes as being the supreme, definitive expression of what is not expressed when drawing features. She praises the artist’s line that, she says, is as spare as it could be, the briefest bloom that encloses, reveals, and hides the essential nature of an expression. According to Jorge Juan Crespo de la Serna, the Mexican critic, “Ras” emphasizes the truest, most characteristic features of a person’s face, capturing the essential aspects in one quick, confident stroke. Ceferino Palencia, another critic who also lived in exile in Mexico, writes that the artist can skewer our idiosyncrasies with his merciless rapier wit, and this exhibition demonstrates that he has a shrewd grasp of psychology and is a consummate designer. Ismael Diego Pérez believes that “Ras” exposes the essential soul of mankind in his caricatures. And, finally, Rosa Castro claims that his caricatures are so distinctive that they leave no doubt as to who drew them.    

The caricaturist Eduardo Robles Piquer “Ras” (1911-93) was sent into exile by boat, on the Sinaia, which brought him to Mexico after spending some time at Saint Ciprien, the French concentration camp. Here in Mexico he drew caricatures for newspapers—El Universal and El Nacional—where he illustrated the section called “Así los ví yo” [That’s How I Saw Them]. In addition to drawing caricatures, “Ras” also worked as an architect from 1942 to 1957, designing parks and gardens in the city. He spent a second phase of his exile in Venezuela, and died in Caracas. This article is important because it is unusual for so much space to be devoted to the art of caricature, and it also includes many illustrations.