{"id":18,"date":"2005-05-24T20:55:23","date_gmt":"2005-05-25T00:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/2005\/05\/24\/latin-american-art\/"},"modified":"2011-03-03T22:38:53","modified_gmt":"2011-03-04T02:38:53","slug":"latin-american-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/2005\/05\/24\/latin-american-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Latin American Art &#8211; Kiss Boredom Goodbye"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\" style=\"text-align: center\">\n<p align=\"center\" style=\"text-align: center\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"riveralaofrenda.jpg\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/files\/2007\/06\/riveralaofrenda.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Latin American Art sales in New   York have taken a new turn.  The usual fare is predictable: Boteros, Lams, Zunigas,  some Tamayos. Collectors are traditionally nationalistic in their purchasesSome exciting pieces have come to market. Diego Rivera is the \u201cflavor of the month.\u201d  <\/p>\n<p>Rousseau arrives in Mexico with the lush 1931 Rivera, <em>La Ofrenda, <\/em>at Sotheby\u2019s. MoMA once owned it, a gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. <em>Acueducto,<\/em> at Christie\u2019s, described as \u201cCezannesque,\u201d stems from the concern with volume and monumentality that occupied Rivera during a stay in Arcueil.<\/p>\n<p>Matta\u2019s <em>L\u2019Impensable (Grand Personnage)<\/em>, at Sotheby\u2019s, is a translation of his two-dimensional work into a delicate \u2013 almost fragile \u2013 sculpture. In the same medium, the dramatic <em>Untitled<\/em> bronze by Alicia Pena (at Christie\u2019s) is massive and solidly primordial. Joaquin Torres-Garcia appears in both auction houses. His 1943 <em>Construccion gris <\/em> at Christie\u2019s is important in the artist\u2019s canon. It once belonged to Jose Gomez-Sicre.  <\/p>\n<p>A refreshing change from the traditional Botero offerings, his 1972 <em>Still Life with Onions <\/em>is a virtuoso piece for sale at Sotheby\u2019s. Monochromatic (charcoal on canvas), its intense drama is product of Baroque chiaroscuro. His impeccable technique is cliche to discuss.  <\/p>\n<p>Claudio Bravo\u2019s masterful <em>Italian Collector of Roman Heads<\/em> is homage to Classical antiquity. It has the self-referential element to Mr. Bravo&#8217;s  collecting activity. The artist explores the depth and complex emotions represented in Roman statuary, here arranged as a still life. The young Italian\u2019s features, of Praxilesque beauty, impart the character narcissistic detachment. His empty stare is juxtaposed to the passion portrayed in the objects of his collection. The aristocratic self-consciousness, even the position of the protagonist\u2019s hand, establishes a connection with the Metropolitan <em>Portrait of a Young Nobleman<\/em> by Bronzino.  <\/p>\n<p>Vik Muniz has had a meteoric rise to international recognition. The Brazilian\u2019s <em>Carceri<\/em> is unusual in his oeuvre;  it is a clever dialogue with Piranesi. Tamayo\u2019s <em>Cabeza Monolitica<\/em> is an imposing steel totem of Giacometti elongation. His fellow Mexican Maria Izquierdo is present in both houses: the playful <em>Tony y Teresita<\/em> at Sotheby\u2019s and <em>El Gallo<\/em>, a still life with a rooster \u2014 executed with characteristic Mexican palate &#8212; at Christie\u2019s.  <\/p>\n<p>Examples of Lam\u2019s Spanish period rarely come to market. His 1937 <em>Untitled<\/em>, a nude self-portrait facing a woman, ties him to Fauvism at that juncture of his trajectory. In this painting, at Christie\u2019s, the visual language is in tune with the work\u2019s erotic possibilities.  <\/p>\n<p>Latin American Modernism and Contemporary art are not the sole concerns of these sales. Important colonial pieces have surfaced this spring. Christie\u2019s XVIII century <em>Biombo de los proverbios<\/em> (Mexican or Colombian) is an exciting study of the Book of Proverbs.  Framed in an ornamental screen, the different components create a visual sermon on moral rectitude. Four XIV century Ex-Votos, once in Andre Bretton\u2019s possession, exemplify genuine piety, rich in the narrative of miracles. The link to Frida Kahlo is immediately established. Sotheby\u2019s features a Rococo <em>Nuestra Senora del Rosario, \u201cLa Marinera\u201d<\/em> . <em>The Holy Family in Nazareth<\/em>, set in an idyllic landscape, departs from the traditional hieratic idiom of Cuzco School. The  Quito School is represented by the <em>Apocalyptic Virgin of Quito<\/em>, dynamic and Europeanized. Important fresh works, not subject to the usual recycling, bring renewed interest to the spring Latin American Art sales in New   York.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Latin American Art sales in New York have taken a new turn. The usual fare is predictable: Boteros, Lams, Zunigas, some Tamayos. Collectors are traditionally nationalistic in their purchasesSome exciting pieces have come to market. Diego Rivera is the \u201cflavor of the month.\u201d Rousseau arrives in Mexico with the lush 1931 Rivera, La Ofrenda, at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1036],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fine-arts"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18\/revisions\/132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/atheneum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}