Latin American Art History Information 2022

Running head: LATIN AMERICAN ART HISTORY
Latin American Art History
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Author’s note

LATIN AMERICAN ART HISTORY
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American art is a collective artistic expression of Central America, South America,
Mexico and the Caribbean. The history of American art has its root in the indigenous cultures of
the region, and was heavily influenced by spiritual and religious concerns. A result of the fusion
of African, European and Native American cultures, it was collectively referred to and known as
Pre-Columbian art. During the colonial period, the visual artistic tradition of the region was
significantly influenced by Portuguese, Spanish, French and most importantly, Dutch Baroque
paintings, which was in turn heavily influenced by the works of the great Italian masters (Giunta
and Flaherty 2017). However, the Eurocentric influence on American art started to fade away
during the early 20th century with the onset of the constructivist movement. Initiated by Russian
artists Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko, the artistic philosophy of constructivism
adhered to the notions of austere and abstract, while aiming to reflect the urban space in the
modern industrial society. The movement also discarded aesthetic stylization to favour the social
and practical purposes of life. Most importantly, it was closely associated with Russian avant-
garde and Soviet Socialism. Manuel Rendon and Joaquin Torres were the stalwarts who ushered
in and promoted the constructivist movement to Latin America (Bailey 2005).
At the turn of 20th century, the Latin American artists also started to shift from the
realistic styles of the colonial Europe and started to develop a more spontaneous, looser
techniques that could manifest deeper emotions. This marked a new era of Latin American Art,
to which the scholars referred as Modernismo- using the Spanish term that was used to denote
the Hispanic literary movement, which promoted innovative, poetic metaphors and sensuous
imagery over realistic descriptions (Baker 2016). The highly aesthetic form of art used
exaggerated use of colours and lines, and shifted the focus of their art to the subject matter,
distinct from the European tradition that emphasized the formal design (Bailey 2205). However,

LATIN AMERICAN ART HISTORY
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the Modernismo style of art encompassed the artistic works that were indirectly influenced by
Impressionism of the 19th century France. Impressionist paintings involved an effort to capture
the optical sensation of light, which was reflected in the use of vibrant colors and pigmentations
in the canvases of Modernismo painters (Rasmussen, Bercht, and Ferrer 1993).
Apart from Impressionism, another artistic style that influence American Modernismo to
a great extent was that of Expressionism. Like Impressionists, Expressionist painters also used
vibrant colors and intensified color contrasts (Davies, C., 2017). Many Latin American painters
were also influenced by the European avant-garde style of Cubism. Which twisted and flattened
the forms of the subject matters and presented from different viewpoints (Barr Jr. 2019). Among
several Latin American artists, Diego Riviera, the famous Mexican muralist was one of the
pioneering figures of Latin American art history, who received and proliferated Cubism in his
works. Rivera was sent to Europe to study art with a scholarship from the Mexican Government.
He eventually ended up in the Cubist circle of Paris and was deeply influenced by the works of
Pablo Picasso and Goerges Braque, the originators of Cubism. Upon his arrival at Mexico,
Rivera continued to adopt abstract forms and still lifes of Cubism in his works, although he kept
abreast of the contemporary developments and movements in Mexico and incorporated them as
his subject matters (Catlin 1996).
Rivera was recognized as the most influential artist of 20th century Mexico. Together with
José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros, he started a movement that became to be
known as the Mexican Muralist movement. Mexican Muralism refers to the proliferation of
mural painting that started back in 1920s Mexico. With the social and political messages as a
part of their subject matters, the Muralists tried to reunify the country under the post-Mexican
revolution government. Since 1920 to 1970, an array of murals with nationalistic messages and