From Genre Art to the Academy:
Towards the creation of the National School of Fine Arts
- The exhibition presents over one hundred works that offer a journey through Colombian art from the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century.
- From Genre Art to the Academy provides an excellent opportunity for visitors to see a number of pieces from the collection that are not usually on display and observe these works from a different perspective.
The National Museum of Colombia, part of the Ministry of Culture, presents the temporary exhibition From Genre Art to the Academy: Towards the creation of the National School of Fine Arts.
This exhibition presents a selection of over one hundred drawings, paintings and sculptures that offer an overview of the history of the creation of the school, the institution’s most notable characteristics and the consequences of adopting the academic canon for teaching art in Colombia in the late nineteenth century.
Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of the creation of the National School of Fine Arts in Colombia, founded in 1886, as part of a project that promised to bring civilization, progress and peace to the nation. In this sense, the exhibition highlights the role of the school as that of educating a generation of artists who would go on to transform the arts in Colombia. Furthermore, it invites visitors to reflect on how the academy continues to influence contemporary artistic and pedagogical practices.
The exhibition provides an excellent opportunity for the public to once again see notable pieces from the art collection of the National Museum and learn about drawings, sketches, prints and paintings that are rarely on display.
From Genre Art to the Academy: Towards the creation of the National School of Fine Arts has been made possible thanks to the Museum’s partnership with Ecopetrol, the sponsorship of Banco Itaú BBA, and the support of the Association of Friends of the National Museum of Colombia.
Painting before the Creation of the School
The journey through the exhibition begins with Painting before the Creation of the School. This first section displays miniatures and genre scenes by artists such as Luis García Hevia, Ramón Torres Méndez and José Manuel Groot. In addition, topics such as the origins of the academic system in Colombia are discussed, with special focus being given to prominent artistic practices within the country.
Drawing and its Purposes
This section presents a range of distinct uses for drawing through which the medium can be understood as a form of knowledge. The selection on display includes a wide array of works. Some span the representation of various customs, as found in the works of Torres Méndez, others demonstrate works used for the purposes of scientific illustration, such as those by Alexander von Humboldt and Agustín Codazzi, while drawings that document the lives of ancient American populations can be seen in pages taken from the notebooks of Liborio Zerda. Furthermore, the importance of engravings in the press, publishing and advertising is highlighted.
The Founding of the School of Fine Arts
Here visitors have the opportunity to learn about numerous direct influences that reached Colombia from abroad. This section includes works by renowned Mexican painter Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez, who, through his work as founder and teacher at the Gutiérrez School in Bogota (an institution that preceded the National School of Fine Arts), introduced a number of principles from academic practice.
This group of works displays various practices that were evident during the creation of the School and notes the adoption of the academic canon in Colombia via the use of photographs, models, grids and copying as a visual exercise and learning method. This selection highlights the works of Epifanio Garay.
Flexibility within the Academic Canon
The pieces displayed in this section reveal substantial variations within the strictness of the academic canon. Works such as The Launderette Over the Seine by Andrés de Santa María or the landscapes of Luis Llanos or Ricardo Borrero Alvarez, show that although the School’s teaching was certainly very strict, the languages of the School’s artists could still be surprisingly diverse. Indeed, they often surpassed what might be excepted of works developed from within the general principals of the academic canon.
The Painting of History
In contrast to the relative innovation of the previous section, in The Painting of History portraits of presidents and dignitaries are displayed. Here works by Ricardo Moors Urbina and Eugenio Zerda, among those of other renowned artists, show that it was within the field of historical paintings that the academic canon was expressed with the greatest rigidity.
Daily Life at the School
Finally, visitors have the chance to see curious objects, documents and photographs that reflect the everyday life of the National School of Fine Arts.
Alternative Activities for the Temporary Exhibition
Guided tours
Tuesday to Friday: 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m., 12:00 noon and 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m.
Open to the general public. Free with entry ticket
Group tours
(Tuesday to Saturday, reservation only)
Tuesday to Friday: 10:00 am, 11:00 am, 12 noon and 2:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am
Capacity: 25 people. Three groups per hour maximum
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: 1 to 14 people, $14.000 per group; 15 people or more, $1.000 per person
Reservations: 381 6470 ext. 2181
[email protected]
Workshops for groups
Available Tuesday to Saturday
Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. and 12 noon
Saturday: 10:00 a.m.
Capacity: 15-25 people per workshop. Duration 120 minutes
Price: 1 to 14 people, $35.000 per group; 15 people or more, $2.500 per person
Reservations: Tel. 381 6470 Ext. 2181
Press Information
National Museum of Colombia
María Andrea Izquierdo / Felipe Lozano
Communications Department
Tel: 381 6470, Ext. 2171 / 2173
E-mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @museonacionalco
Facebook: /museonacionaldecolombia
www.museonacional.gov.co