PATRICIA ARTUNDO

What Argentinian painters are more well-known in Argentina?. Which paintings are more beautiful?. Interesting questions, but very difficult to answer unless you have at least some notions of the subject, and then, of course, a lot depends on your taste. This book is a first introduction to the matter, but not much more. "Pintura Argentina" allows you to have at least a glimpse of the paintings made by some Argentinian artists in the period that goes from 1830 to 1970. It includes good illustrations in colors, and three introductory essays in Spanish that will give you some details regarding the artists discussed and their historical circumstances. Some of those artists are Cándido López, Eduardo Sívori, Ernesto de la Cárcova, Fernando Fader, Cesáreo Quirós, Xul Solar and Antonio Berni. This book is short, and includes only some Argentinian artists, certainly not all of them. Moreover, each artist is represented only by one or two of his paintings, something that isn't totally fair given that most have changed their style through the years. For example, "Jefa" and "Vuel Vila" represent Xul Solar's paintings, but if you visit www.xulsolar.org.ar you will realize how varied his paintings were. One of my two favorites paintings by Xul Solar, "Puerto Azul", is not included in this book but can be admired in that website. The other is in fact included in "Pintura Argentina", and it is "Vuel Vila", so please pay attention to it :) As you see, this book isn't enough by far if you are really interested in the subject, but it is a good way to start studying it, specially considering that until now Amazon doesn't have many more books on the subject. All in all, and until that changes, I recommend you to read this book. Be aware, though, that there is much more out there about Argentinian painters, and that you should try to discover it... Belen Alcat