Summary During the nineteenth century, Venezuelan art developed in a series of disjointed episodes. These episodes reflect the difficulties the new republic encountered in facing its destiny in the years after 1830. Colonial models still held sway at the beginning of the century, as evidenced by the attention given to portraiture. It took an opening to the outside world, rather than an examination of local reality, to show that those models were no longer valid. Juan Lovera’s portraits reflect that opening and constitute a source of artistic renovation. Beginning in the middle of the century, the presence of several foreign artists imbued with a European viewpoint served to call attention to aspects of local reality worthy of attention, particularly landscape. Ferdinand Bellermann and Camille Pissarro were important figures in this regard. Continued political turmoil in Venezuela prevented any normalization of cultural activity until the end of the third quarter of the century. Then, at last, leadership of the nation was consolidated and significant improvements were registered in the administration of the country. This period was marked by a return to realistic portraiture and an interest in works of local color, illustrated by the early efforts of Martín Tovar y Tovar. The Venezuelan elite took France as its model and sought to imitate it in every way possible, reflecting the attainments of a society that had succeeded in establishing its cultural leadership in addition to achieving great material and intellectual progress. In painting, copying the French model led to the adoption of the Academic style. However, there was a substantial difference between the two societies in their historical development and in many cases it is difficult to reconcile discrepancies between pictorial expression and the social structure. Antonio Herrera Toro, Arturo Michelena, and Cristóbal Rojas are three of the best representatives of this period. This attitude prevailed until the second decade of the twentieth century, when a new generation, whose forerunner was Emilio Boggio, took a fresh view of the function of art and the means of visual expression. The perspective became increasingly nationalistic, reflecting the rise in Venezuela’s economic power, which was facilitated by the boom in oil. All the artists represented in this exhibition—and others who lamentably could not be included—were witnesses to their times. Their work should be viewed as the product of specific circumstances. It should be appreciated not only as a manifestation of personal talent, but also as a contribution to the course of development taken by Venezuelan artists in experimenting with painting, and to the definition of the character of the nation’s art. Félix Angel Curator
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