작품 상세

JUAN DEL PRETE (Argentina, 1897-1987). Untitled, 1945. Mixed media collage on cardboard. Signed and dated in the lower right corner. Measurements: 58 x 50 cm. 97 x 98 cm. (frame) In this work, the artist offers us an interior scene constituted by an aesthetic of synthetic character in its forms and, at the same time, of great expressive intensity, constructed through broad brushstrokes that present an energetic invoice in the stroke and thanks to the use of schematic plastic elements the artist manages to create a tactile effect and a visual purity free of any artifice or anecdotal detail. It is a work inherited from the avant-garde, maintaining certain forms ascribed to cubism, although the expressive use of the brushstroke reveals that it is a work that is heir to the avant-garde trends, but at the same time evolves with respect to them. Juan del Petre's interest in art began when he was a child, and he was self-taught in this discipline. In 1925 he decided to send one of his works to the National Salon, where he received a great reception from the public and critics, which led to his first individual exhibition held at the Asociación de Amigos del Arte. Years later he moved to Paris, thanks to a government grant, and it was there that he came into contact with artists such as Jean Arp or Torres García or Alexander Calder, with whom he collaborated in the Abstraction Creation Art non Figuratif group's magazine. In 1933 he returned to Argentina, where he exhibited his works, which are considered the first non-figurative paintings exhibited in Argentina, although they were not very well received. Twenty years later he moved to Italy, and in 1957 he was called to represent the IV International Biennial of Sao Paulo. Throughout his career he was awarded numerous prizes, including: First Prize at the Salón de Acuarelistas and the Grand Prize at the Salón Municipal in 1957, the Palanza Prize in 1958, the Grand Prize of Honour at the Salón Nacional in 1963 and, in Brussels in 1958, he was awarded the International Grand Prize.