This document is part of a group of passionate critiques that were published during the controversial exhibition of Gabriel Bracho’s work held at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Caracas in 1951. The radical defense that Mujica makes on behalf of Gabriel Bracho’s “committed painting” goes hand in hand with his activism and political proselytism; moreover, it is the sole justification in this article. In this sense, Mujica’s paradoxical conclusion that Bracho is one of the “best painters in Venezuela” is even more interesting, after casting severe criticism and sharp commentaries on the painter’s limited skill. Mujica was a militant member of the Communist party of Venezuela and could not overlook the attacks that Bracho received because of the critical stance in his painting.
Other writers who discussed Gabriel Bracho’s exhibition were Jesús Antonio Cova, with his article “Gabriel Bracho, pintor de Bajos Fondos” (Últimas Noticias, Caracas, August 23, 1951); Manuel Trujillo, who wrote “Decimos no a Bracho por su pintura comprometida” (El Nacional, Caracas, August 23, 1951); and Juan Liscano, “Gabriel Bracho” (El Nacional, 1951) [see doc. no. 850217].
With regard to the work of artist Gabriel Bracho, see the essay by Pedro Lobos, “Semblanzas de nuestros días en la pintura de Gabriel Bracho” [doc. no. 1080662]; the article by Guillermo Alfredo Cook, “Bracho sacrifica lo más caro a todo artista: la libertad” [doc. no. 850751]; and the review by Manuel García Hernández, “El mensaje de Gabriel Bracho es neo-americano: cartas de Buenos Aires” [doc. no. 1101870].
