Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

This essay is a continuation of the exiled artist, José Renau’s, reflections on the preeminence of realism over abstraction. He believes that in the years following World War I, the art trends were characterized by an unbridled exaltation of [...]

The author reflects on a comparison between abstraction and realism, presenting it as a grave problem of the era. For José Renau, the main trend of the “bourgeois” culture is based on the abstract and trivial aspect of intellectual creation. He [...]

Josep Renau believes that, to fully understand a work of art, one must know something about the artist’s chronological evolution, the artist’s work, and the artist’s milieu. He states: “a work of art should be . . . the latest expression of [...]

The statements by Pablo Picasso are a highlight of the catalog assembled for a late exhibition held in Picasso’s honor in Mexico City in 1944. The texts for the catalog were assigned to four other artists: Carlos Mérida, the painter and muralist [...]

The author José Renau, exiled in Mexico, summarizes the principal avant-garde art trends of the 20th century, highlighting the contradiction between the works created and their artistic value in light of the few connections among the artists, [...]

José Renau discusses the significance of the first Spanish-American Art Biennial, sponsored by Francisco Franco. According to Renau, the goal of the exhibition was to “establish a link between Spain’s robust pictorial tradition and the effete [...]