Latin American Visual Arts, Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries

Résumé du document

In order to identify specific allegories and attributes used in nineteenth and twentieth century Latin American visual arts, one first needs to come back to the original meaning of these two words. An allegory comes from the Greek words "other", and, "to speak in public". Therefore, this origin of the word means that it is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal. Allegory is generally treated as a figure of rhetoric. It may be addressed to the eye, and is often found in realistic painting, sculpture or some other form of mimetic, or representative art. Moreover, an attribute is linked to this notion of allegory as it is often an object that identifies a figure, in other words, its function is to represent and give meaning. The objects in this case represent symbols which are known by the public who will understand the general meaning of the painting. One may add that an attribute is most commonly referring to objects held by saints. However, even if these two notions were used originally in religious artworks, one can find them in many other different artworks. Indeed, allegory and attributes are not only used to represent a religious scene taken from the Bible, they can be used for other purposes such as giving information on the seater in a portrait for example. In this particular case, attributes will be given to him so that the spectator can recognize his rank, social status, his education, and also his family background. This has been developed by many European artists from the nineteenth century onwards. However, what will raise our interest in this essay is specifically the use of allegory and attributes by Latin American artists.
Indeed, the specifically Latin American features or qualities which can be identified in the artworks vary enormously as there are, on the one hand, artists who work in a more or less representational mode, producing images with specifically Latin American themes, where the national symbols are explicit and on the other hand, some works of art which have an echo or evocation of colonial paintings . In other words, this ambiguity between creativity and influence is crucial to the understanding of the different uses of allegory and attributes by Latin American artists. Indeed, the four different artworks chosen here will show the very distinct aim that artists had in mind when using allegory. Whereas the first painting, Virgen de la Merced by Gil de Castro uses religious attributes to convey specific emotions and ideas, the second one, Simon Bolivar, Liberator and father of the nation by Pedro Jose Figueroa is presenting an allegory of the republic through the shape of an indigenous woman. The third one, Agrarian Leader Zapata by Diego Rivera is using allegory and attributes to celebrate Mexico's indigenous culture, and to teach the nation's people about both their own history and the new government's dreams for their future. Finally, the last artwork chosen is Botero's Lady of Columbia, which is playing with codified attributes present in Colonial painting.

Extraits

[...] Indeed, Botero sees colonial art as a crucial ingredient of national identity. This idea can be particularly seen in the painting, Our lady of Columbia (1967), where the artist fuses sacred and secular in an exploration of the gap between two worlds in today's society. A rotund virgin and child inspired by the Andrean Madonnas of the 18th century stands in front of an aureole adorned with roses and four Columbian flags. In her right hand she holds the scapular ( a badge for a lay confraternity or third order) and in the left she embraces a small infant Christ child, who holds his own Colombian flag in addition to the orb of the Salvador Mundi (Savior of the world). [...]

[...] For the first time in the history of Art, Mexican mural painting made the masses the heroes of monumental art."[3] Fernando Botero, Our lady of Colombia Fernando Botero is a neo-figurative Colombian artist, self- titled "the most Colombian of Colombian artists. His paintings and sculptures are, on first examination, noted for their exaggerated proportions and the corpulence of the human figures and animal figures. He is therefore an abstract artist in the most fundamental sense of the word, choosing what colors, shapes, and proportions to use based on intuitive aesthetic thinking. However, what is interesting for our subject is Botero's analysis of the influence of colonial art on Latin American artists. [...]

[...] Latin American Visual Arts, Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries Explore the ways in which the attributes and allegory in nineteenth and twentieth century Latin American visual arts serves to narrate, display or represent events and ideas. In order to identify specific allegories and attributes used in nineteenth and twentieth century Latin American visual arts, one first needs to come back to the original meaning of these two words. An allegory comes from the Greek words "other", and, "to speak in public". [...]

[...] Therefore, this painting has some interest for us as it shows the colonial influence on Latin American art; indeed, the allegories and attributes seem to be copied and transposed to another set of ideas implying another nation and certainly a different culture. 3). Diego Rivera. (Mexican, 1886-1957). Agrarian Leader Zapata After the end of the Mexican Revolution, in the 1920s, Rivera was among the painters who celebrated Mexico's indigenous culture, and who wanted to teach the nation's people about both their own history and the new government's dreams for their future. [...]

[...] The figures in white throughout the mural are dark skinned, have black hair and oval shaped eyes (as does the horse). This artwork uses all kinds of attributes in order for the public to recognize this scene that they might have heard of. Zapata is indeed a well-known figure as he was a rebel leader in 1910 and organized uprisings for land reform. In 1919, Zapata was ambushed and then killed by government supporters. Rivera depicted current events and historical episodes with vivid colours and bold forms, celebrating his native culture on the walls of public and government buildings. [...]