Jorge Romero Brest (1905–1989) was a professor, critic, and cultural producer active in the Argentine visual arts. Removed from public office during the first presidency of Juan Domingo Perón (1946–55), he became the director of the journal, Ver y estimar [See and Ponder]. Later, the so-called Revolución Libertadora that ousted Perón on September 16, 1955, named him administrator of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Buenos Aires, which he directed until 1963. During the sixties, he was in charge of the Centro de Artes Visuales del Instituto Torcuato Di Tella [Center for the Visual Arts at Di Tella Institute]. The publication, Ver y estimar, was able to function due to a group of Brest disciples, students who attended the classes he gave in art history after having been barred by government authorities from his position as professor. Damián Carlos Bayón (1915–95) was the editor-in-chief of that journal.The monthly magazine, Saber Vivir [The Art of Living], came into being at the impetus of Chilean diplomat and gourmet, José Eyzaguirre. It was published from August 1940 through 1957 due to the efforts of Carmen Valdés, Alberto Lagos, Catalan Joan Merli, and a great many contributors.This text has been selected because it documents the thinking of Romero Brest, who was a major advocate of modern art during the fifties. In this issue of Saber Vivir, which was dedicated to modern art, he explains, in an expository tone, what he deems are the differences between Abstract and Concrete Art.
