Pedro Figari
| Pedro Figari | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Pedro Figari Solari June 29, 1861 Montevideo |
| Died | July 24, 1938 (aged 77) Montevideo |
| Nationality | Uruguayan |
| Known for | lawyer, writer, politician, educator and artist |
| Movement | American Impressionism |
Pedro Figari (June 29, 1861 – July 24, 1938) was a Uruguayan painter, lawyer, writer, and politician. Although he did not begin the practice until his later years, he is best known as an early modernist painter who emphasized capturing the everyday aspects of life in his work. In most of his pieces, he attempts to capture the essence of his home by painting local customs that he had observed in his childhood.
Figari painted primarily from memory, a technique that gives his work a far more personal feeling. With his unique style, which involved painting without the intention to create an illusion, he, along with other prominent Latin-American artists such as Diego Rivera and Tarsila do Amaral, sparked a revolution of identity in the art world of Latin America.
Pedro Figari was born in 1861. Although he showed an interest in art during his childhood, most of his life was devoted to the practice of law. In 1886, he received a degree in law. His position as a defense counsel for the poor exposed him to many social issues that most likely influenced his art later on. During the same year in which he received his degree, Figari studied under Godofredo Sommavilla, an academically-trained Italian painter, married, and went to France. It was there that he was exposed to Post-Impressionism, which also greatly influenced his art. "On his return to Uruguay he became actively involved in journalism, law and politics as well as fostering the creation of the Escuela de Bellas Artes. […] He was a member of the Uruguayan Parliament, president of the Ateneo of Montevideo and director of the Escuela Nacional de Artes y Oficios."
Although people repeat that Figari did not actually begin to paint until his later life, he had always painted to some extent. His early paintings were “tight watercolor and oil sketches [that had both] academic charm [and] the expert domestic intimacy of Manet and Degas".
It was not until 1921, at the age of 60, that Figari devoted himself completely to painting. He moved to Buenos Aires and left behind the Italian style that he had adopted earlier in his career. Here, he "created figurative compositions as arrangements of colour, reconstructing rather than documenting the Uruguayan scene; the geography, gaucho life, the celebrations, symbolic rituals and carnivals of the local black community." When he returned to Paris in 1925, he continued to paint this subject matter from memory, which brought him recognition as a painter.
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