Artist

Uruguayan Artwork

Our Uruguayan art prints centre on two of Latin America's great modern painters. Pedro Figari painted gauchos, country dances and the candombe of Montevideo's Black community from memory, in warm, loose colour. Joaquín Torres-García built a language of signs and grids that he called Constructive...Read more

Our Uruguayan art prints centre on two of Latin America's great modern painters. Pedro Figari painted gauchos, country dances and the candombe of Montevideo's Black community from memory, in warm, loose colour. Joaquín Torres-García built a language of signs and grids that he called Constructive Universalism. With Juan Manuel Blanes and Rafael Barradas alongside, this collection of 86 fine art prints suits a living room, a study or a modern hallway.

About Uruguayan Art Prints

Juan Manuel Blanes (1830–1901), born in Montevideo, was Uruguay's great realist painter of the 19th century. He started as a newspaper illustrator, became one of the country's most sought-after portrait painters, and painted gauchos and scenes from history.

Pedro Figari (1861–1938) spent most of his life as a lawyer, writer and politician. Only in 1921, at the age of 60, did he devote himself fully to painting. He moved to Buenos Aires, then to Paris in 1925, and painted from memory the Uruguay of his childhood: the pampas, gaucho life, country dances and the candombe celebrations of Montevideo's Black community. His work was shown in the art competition at the 1932 Olympics.

Joaquín Torres-García (1874–1949) was born in Montevideo but spent most of his adult life abroad. In Barcelona he taught and designed artistic toys; in 1920 he went to New York and drew its skyscrapers, docks and crowds. In Paris he founded Cercle et Carré, one of the first groups devoted to abstract art, with members such as Mondrian and Kandinsky. He came home to Montevideo in 1934, after 43 years away, and founded the Taller Torres-García, a workshop that trained a generation of artists.

Rafael Barradas (1890–1929), also from Montevideo, worked in Spain and developed his own version of Cubism, which he called Vibrationism.

Style and Subjects

Figari is all warmth and movement: couples dancing the pericón in a courtyard, candombe under the moon, horses on the open pampa. He painted without trying to create an illusion, so his figures are loose and simple and the colour does the work.

Torres-García's mature paintings are easy to spot: a geometric grid, each section holding a simple sign or pictogram that works like a word in a written language. They combine abstraction and representation, rooted in classical ideas of order. His New York drawings are lively and crowded, and his early still lifes and city views show the path that led him there.

Famous Works

Los Dos Ponchos, Juan Manuel Blanes. Gaucho life by Uruguay's leading 19th-century realist.
Candombe o Candombe bajo la luna, Pedro Figari (1922). A night-time candombe celebration, one of Figari's signature subjects.
El Pericón, Pedro Figari. Couples dancing the pericón, a country dance Figari painted again and again.
Pampa, Pedro Figari. The open grasslands Figari remembered from his youth.
New York Docks, Joaquín Torres-García. From his two years in New York, when he drew bridges, boats and people.
Constructivo a cinco tonos, Joaquín Torres-García. A Constructive painting in five tones, built on his grid of signs.
Arte universal, Joaquín Torres-García. A title that sums up his aim: one pictorial language for everyone.

Decorating with Uruguayan Art Prints

Figari's dancers and candombe scenes are joyful and warm, perfect for a living room, dining room or anywhere people gather. His pampa landscapes are calmer and suit a bedroom.

Torres-García's Constructive grids look at home in modern and mid-century interiors, in a home office, entryway or above a low sideboard. Hang two or three together for a gallery wall with a strong, graphic rhythm, and add a New York drawing for contrast.

FAQ

Who are the most famous Uruguayan painters?

Joaquín Torres-García, founder of Constructive Universalism, and Pedro Figari, painter of Río de la Plata life, are the best known. Juan Manuel Blanes is the leading figure of the 19th century.

What is Constructive Universalism?

Torres-García's style, which places simple signs, or pictograms, inside a geometric grid. He believed geometry was a universal visual language shared by all cultures.

What is candombe?

A tradition of the Black community of Montevideo, and one of Pedro Figari's favourite subjects. He painted its celebrations and carnivals from memory.