Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

In 1937, Ricardo Peña wrote about José Sabogal’s work on the occasion of his exhibition at the Sociedad Filarmónica, suggesting that the paintings on display could be classified, in terms of “his ethical and artistic approach,” into three [...]

The synopsis and the annotations in English are coming soon. However, our bilingual readers can click on “Español” to access this information in Spanish [...]

Carlos Raygada claims that José Sabogal’s work combines technical mastery with a “moody” aesthetic to produce an accurate expression of the country’s sensibilities. The critic describes Sabogal’s paintings as unusually controversial [...]

In his review of José Sabogal’s 1937 exhibition, the author claims that an analysis of the evolution of the painter’s work reveals “a single driving thought and a single, constant desire for modernity, as well as a sense of the vernacular.” [...]

Óscar Fritz compares José Sabogal’s influence on the Peruvian visual arts to Martin Luther’s impact during the Reformation: a process that “sought to return to an earlier simplicity, to embrace a form of evangelical speech that mimicked the [...]

This article was published in January 1933 on the occasion of ENBA’s exhibition of paintings by Daniel Hernández, who was the first director of the Peruvian Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes [National School of Fine Arts], and by the school’s [...]

The author of this article is entranced by José Sabogal’s use of color in his works. He also thinks the painter has already expressed, in some of his paintings, an undeniable sense of “Peruvian-ness,” forging a new technique that blends the [...]

In the author’s opinion there has seldom been a fairer appointment, because José Sabogal is not a token candidate, he is a hard-working painter. Another factor is the “authentic Peruvian-ness” of what José Eulogio Garrido calls the fervent [...]

According to the author of this article José Sabogal is, above all, “someone who expresses Peruvian-ness,” one who has not only developed an original technique, but has also managed to expose profound and unprecedented aspects of the country’s [...]

In this text, José Sabogal, who is outraged, writes about a colonial fountain in the city of Cuzco that has been “savagely and mercilessly torn from its secular place.” That fountain, the painter explains, was “the people of Cuzco’s favorite [...]

The author of this article thinks that Peru does a better job of addressing its potential in the artistic arena than in the social or political sphere, although this has begun to change in recent years. In his opinion, José Sabogal’s paintings are [...]

In this article, Carlos Solari asserts that the medium of “wood engraving has always been very suggestive” for painter José Sabogal. “The synthetic quality that it requires [befits] the temperamental characteristics for which he is known,” [...]

López Merino begins his article by remarking on the success of Sabogal’s exhibition in Buenos Aires, “where the most discerning critics acknowledged the respect he enjoys in Latin America.” The writer describes the exhibition of prints as a [...]

The writer of this article claims that José Sabogal’s exhibition “will shake our art milieu out of its inertia,” referring to a previous review he wrote about the Peruvian indigenist painter’s exhibition in Buenos Aires in 1928. In his [...]

On the occasion of the party organized for José Sabogal by “young Peruvians in Buenos Aires,” the author notes the group’s obvious admiration for and acknowledgment of the artist, based on their shared feelings and ideals. The works of art [...]

The author explains that not many Latin American artists exhibit their work in Buenos Aires (other than those from the countries of the Río de la Plata region: Uruguay and Argentina), since European artists tend to be more enthusiastically received [...]

The Argentinean critic writing for El Diario newspaper considers José Sabogal “one of the most important painters in art from the Americas” owing to “a modern vision very much his own” and “a deeply poetic spirit” committed to capturing [...]

In this text, Carlos Solari (alias “Don Quijote”) discusses articles on Peruvian painter Sabogal that appeared in the most important Buenos Aires-based newspapers (three of them in particular). The article in La Prensa speaks of the “modern [...]

The author notes José Sabogal’s comments about his earlier travels and his training in Europe, which he said was helpful for learning “the tricks of the trade, how to move one’s hand smoothly, that’s all,” but claimed that he resisted any [...]

This text by eminent thinker, politician, and journalist José Carlos Mariátegui comments on José Sabogal—the founder of pictorial Indianism in Peru—on the occasion of his upcoming show at the Sociedad Amigos del Arte in Buenos Aires (1928). [...]

The critic Carlos Solari (alias “Don Quijote”) reviews about thirty works that José Sabogal, the founder of Peruvian indigenist painting, brought to Lima after spending several months in Cuzco (c. 1925). In Solari’s opinion, the painter is [...]

This article includes lyrical and historical references to Cuzco, lauding the marvelous Inca monuments of the city. The author nonetheless wonders if it might be possible to find, among the Cuzco Indians, “a shared spiritual foundation” between [...]

Referring to the visual art he saw in Mexico, José Sabogal says that contemporary Mexican painting is already “the most serious American movement in art. It represents something truly national, truly American.” Its exponents (he mentions José [...]

The synopsis and the annotations in English are coming soon. However, our bilingual readers can click on “Español” to access this information in Spanish [...]

This text is Peruvian modern architect Luis Miró Quesada Garland’s final response to a series of articles by Sebastián Salazar Bondy published in La Prensa newspaper (Lima, September and October, 1955). As a correlate, the text quotes poet Walt [...]

This is the response of the Peruvian Modernista architect, Luis Miró Quesada Garland, to a series of three articles by the writer, Sebastián Salazar Bondy, published in the Lima daily newspaper, La Prensa,in September 1955. The writer describes [...]

This text is Sebastián Salazar Bondy’s response to the criticism of artistic nationalism voiced by architect Luis Miró Quesada Garland in El Comercio newspaper (Lima, September 18, 1955) [see in the ICAA digital archive “En blanca y negra” ( [...]

In the context of remarks on an exhibition of work by painter Mario Urteaga and the public acquisition of a large set of works by academic portraitist Carlos Baca-Flor, this text by Luis Miró Quesada Garland voices criticism of nationalism in art. [...]

In this text, Sebastián Salazar Bondy reflects on what he views as the unquestionable ties between an artist and his country. For the author, a sense of uprootedness, rather than physical distance, is what causes the artist to become disengaged from [...]

This article signed S. P. B. (Samuel Pérez Barreto) forms part of the “El Perú y la cultura” column published in the Lima-based newspaper La Prensa in 1950. According to the author, a return to the pre-Hispanic essence is the only way to create [...]

This interview with painter and muralist Teodoro Núñez Ureta includes some biographical notes and photographs of his work space. Núñez Ureta asserts that the so-called “isms,” fruit of European decadence, contaminate painting in America. What [...]

In this article signed “J. Nahuaca”—the anagram he used as an alias—Peruvian critic Juan Acha reflects on whether or not there is a painting tradition in Peru. He discusses the current state of painting on the occasion of the Premio [...]

This article by Juan Acha addresses the relationship between nationalism and painting. To the writer, Peruvianized painting is usually identified by its iconography. In this regard, he acknowledges that “[d]esde un punto de vista estético-socioló [...]

In this article signed “J. Nahuaca”—the anagram he used as an alias—critic Juan Acha addresses the relationship between nationalism and painting in Peru. He points out “the pressure” that nationalist concerns, which he considers “ [...]

In this text, Sebastián Salazar Bondy argues that the post-romantic generation, which was held in high regard at the time, is not essential to Peruvian art history because it is anachronistic; such art has neglected its “true” national and [...]

This text is the second of three parts of the essay “Cómo la pintura ha buscado al Perú” written by Sebastián Salazar Bondy. The text was not intended to be “an aesthetic theory,” but rather “a sociological interrogation” geared [...]

This text is the first of three parts of the essay “Cómo la pintura ha buscado al Perú” written by Sebastián Salazar Bondy. The text was not intended to be “an aesthetic theory,” but rather “a sociological interrogation” geared towards [...]

Commentary by Luis Miró Quesada Garland on the Mexican art exhibition organized by La Crónica newspaper. The author begins by recognizing the quality of the exhibition as a holistic view on Mexican painting within the last few years. Nevertheless, [...]

This is the first of two articles by Sebastián Salazar Bondy, published under the pseudonym “Juan Eye,” on the Mexican art exhibition organized in Lima by La Crónica newspaper. The author believes the show is exceptional for its positive [...]

This text is Samuel Pérez Barreto’s response to the article by the Agrupación Espacio published as part of the debate that took shape around the polemic statements by Fernando de Szyszlo (“there are no painters in Peru”) published in La [...]

In this article, Samuel Pérez Barreto argues that there is a connection between Fernando de Szyszlo’s polemic statement “there are no painters in Peru” and writer Juan Ríos’s assertion in response that there are excellent painters in the [...]

Questioned about Fernando de Szyszlo’s statement that there are no painters in Peru or indeed—with the exception of Rufino Tamayo—in the Americas, Juan Ríos defends Mexican muralism, thereby confirming that there are, in fact, Peruvian [...]

This text contains the polemic statements that Fernando de Szyszlo made on the occasion of his exhibition of abstract paintings held at the Asociación de Arquitectos del Perú in Lima in May 1951. He starts off by provocatively asserting that “ [...]

The majority of the excerpts from articles published throughout 1954 by Luis Miró Quesada Garland addresses the issues of art theory and exhibition critiques. In the overall summary of the year for his column “En blanca y negra,” the author [...]

The author argues that the confusion between the terms “universal” and “cosmopolitan” was caused by “the disagreeable and audacious accusation of the ‘made in Paris’ [artists],” who oppose the idea of a national art. In his opinion, [...]

This questionnaire-like interview with José Sabogal addresses his recent stay in Mexico, which lasted for a number of months. The interviewer asserts that Sabogal “is one of our most valuable young artists,” and explains that he has already [...]

This essay by writer and thinker José Carlos Mariátegui formed part of the “Peruanicemos al Perú” series published by Mundial magazine. In this text on the problem of art education in Peru, the author criticizes the neglect of art in public [...]

This essay by José Carlos Mariátegui formed part of the “Peruanicemos al Perú” section of Mundial magazine. In this third and final text in the series on Indianist literature, the author asserts that Indianism is not the same thing as [...]

This essay by José Carlos Mariátegui formed part of the “Peruanicemos al Perú” section of Mundial magazine. In this second text in the series on Indianist literature, the author analyzes the phenomenon of literary criollismo, explaining that [...]

This essay by writer and thinker José Carlos Mariátegui formed part of the “Peruanicemos al Perú” section of Mundial magazine. In it, Mariátegui questions the conservative position that sees the country’s tradition as colonial, Lima-based, [...]