Contemporary Latin American Painting

Abstract

In a study of the origins and development of Latin American painting, one might begin by searching for a possible common denominator in the work of the different artists. If a common denominator does exist, this painting is nevertheless the expression of individuals who, similar though they may seem to foreign observers, are products of diverse social environments as well as diverse historical circumstances. The existence of a pre-Columbian tradition, or the absence of it, has resulted in a variety of attitudes toward the colonial and even the pre-Columbian tradition. For example: in Argentina there are to be found, especially in the interior, only rare signs of a pre-Columbian culture; on the other hand, in Mexico and Peru, the presence of a pre-Columbian civilization is so evident that it is accepted almost as a symbol of these nationalities. In the latter two countries there is a large indigenous population (in Peru it reaches 50% of the nation), while in Argentina a native population is practically non-existent. Conversely, the Negro, absent from the high plains that house the great masses of the population of Peru, Bolivia, and Mexico, forms a large proportion of the population of Brazil which is almost devoid of any pre-Columbian tradition. This situation affects the cultural manifestations of Brazil in a determinative way just as it does those of the islands of the Caribbean. These examples may clarify some of the important differences which exist in the background of that which we generally define as Latin American painting.