From the LACMA Public Domain:
Curator’s Notes
Dancing People… by Pedro Figari (Uruguay, 1861-1938) | Uruguay, circa 1920, Paintings, Oil on board
Dancing People: Candombe (Personas bailando: [Candome])
Artist: Pedro Figari (Uruguay, 1861-1938)
Uruguay, circa 1920
Paintings
Oil on board
Frame: 29 1/2 × 35 1/2 × 3 1/2 in. (74.93 × 90.17 × 8.89 cm)
Gift of Gregory Peck (M.91.162)
Latin American Art
This work depicts a candombe — a dance of African origin performed in South America. Pedro Figari, one of the founders of modernism in Uruguay, spent most of his life as a lawyer and public defender; he started painting at age sixty. In 1925, he moved to Paris, where he was influenced by the postimpressionist styles of Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) and Édouard Vuillard (1868-1940). Figari was an extremely prolific artist, and his works depict the Río de la Plata region. “My conviction, said the artist, has been to elevate our culture and make us love the American things that are so very much ours.” Ilona Katzew, 2008.
Bibliography:
- Manley, Marianne. Intimate Recollections of the Rio de La Plata: Paintings by Pedro Figari = Recuerdos Intimos del Rio de La Plata: Pinturas de Pedro Figari. New York: Center for Inter-American Relations, 1986.
- Pedro Figari (1861-1938). New York: William Beadleston, Inc., 1987.
- Pedro Figari 1861-1938. London: Wildenstein and Co Ltd, 1972.
Research for this artistic work is courtesy of the Art Public Domain Initiative with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
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