This interview is one of a series of conversations published in “Lecturas dominicales – Nuestros artistas” [Sunday Readings – Our Artists]. In 1923 Colombian writer Paco Miró conducted interviews for that publication with five artists representative of the period: Coriolano Leudo Obando (1886−1957) (“El maestro Leudo,” El Tiempo, September 2, 1923, pp. 230–31); Ricardo Acevedo Bernal (1867−1930) (“Con Ricardo Acevedo Bernal” [see doc. no. 1130450]); Francisco Antonio Cano (1865−1935) (“Francisco A. Cano,” El Tiempo, August 16, 1923, p. 249); Eugenio Zerda (1878−1945) (“Eugenio Zerda,” El Tiempo, October 28, 1923, p. 397); and Miguel Díaz Vargas (1886−1956) (“Miguel Díaz V.,” [see doc. no. 860222]).
The topics discussed largely revolve around two events important to the cultural movement of the time: the painting exhibition held at Parque de la Independencia in Bogota (Pizano, Roberto, “La exposición de pintura en el Parque de la Independencia,” [doc. no. 1079127]) and the exhibition of French art that took place in August 1922 (Pizano, Roberto, “La exposición de arte francés,” [doc. no. 1097901]). These unique interviews are crucial to understanding the interests of and influences on each artist, as well as some of the topics discussed during the 1920s as a specifically Colombian art was taking shape. Topics include the importance placed on the work of Andrés de Santamaría (1860−1945), the advent of the European avant-garde art styles (mostly Cubism, Futurism, and Impressionism), and the formulation of nationalist painting.
Specifically significant, when Miguel Díaz Vargas was thirty-six years old in 1923, his production became increasingly concerned with nationalist themes and local customs when he worked at the Escuela de Bellas Artes. In this interview, Díaz Vargas professes admiration for Coriolano Leudo’s atavistic work, admiration that is evident in the painting La vendedora de flores [Girl Selling Flowers] (c. 1923), inspired by a typical scene of life in Bogota. The theme of this work, unique in Díaz Vargas’s production, is reminiscent of Leudo’s Mantilla Bogotana [Bogota Mantilla].