Santiago Martínez Delgado | |
|---|---|
 1947 Photograph | |
| Born | Santiago Martínez Delgado 1906 (1906) |
| Died | 1954 (aged 47–48) Hacienda El Molino,Colombia |
| Education | Chicago Academy of Fine Arts,Frank Lloyd Wright |
| Known for | Painting |
| Notable work | Mural at the Colombian Capitol |
| Movement | Art Deco,Muralist |
| Awards | Logan Medal of the arts,Salón de Artistas Colombianos |
| Patron | Nelson Rockefeller |
Santiago Martínez Delgado (1906–1954) was a Colombian painter, sculptor,art historian and writer. He established a reputation as a prominentmuralist during the 1940s and is also known for his watercolors, oil paintings, illustrations andwoodcarvings.
Martínez attended theChicago Academy of Fine Arts under the tutelage ofRuth VanSickle Ford.[1] In 1933, he was awarded theLogan Medal of the Arts for his mural at the "Century of Progress" International Exhibition inChicago. During these years in Chicago, he produced various illustrations forEsquire Magazine and participated in theFederal Art Project.[2] Martínez was a disciple ofFrank Lloyd Wright atTaliesin, where he began to experiment with theArt Deco style.[3]
In Colombia, Martínez was awarded the gold medal in the 1940Salón de Artistas Colombianos and was again awarded the top prize in 1941. In 1947, Martinez Delgado painted themural at theSalón Elíptico in the Colombian Congress Building, considered one of the greatest murals of the 20th century. Martínez was then awarded LaOrden De Boyaca (Colombia's highest government honor). Martinez was at the top of the Latin-American fine-arts scene when he died at the age of 47.
Martinez's ancestry profoundly influenced his art choices and books. Born into an aristocratic family inBogotá, his father was the Conservative party leader Luis Martinez and his mother Mercedes Delgado Mallarino. It was a difficult childhood due to his father's expulsion from Colombia as a result of an indictment for his involvement in an earlierCoup d'état.
Martinez began studying art at age 11 under the instruction of Colombian MasterRoberto Pizano and followingAndrés de Santa Maria at the Bogotá Fine Arts Academy.In 1925, he moved toCartagena, where, at the age of 18, he directed and illustrated some sections for the newspaper "La Patria" under the pseudonym of "Sanmardel".
Soon after, in 1926, Martínez traveled toChicago, where he studied and worked for over five years at the Fine Arts Institute of Chicago under the tutelage of Ruth VanSickle Ford. In Chicago, Martínez befriended and worked alongsideEdward Hopper,Isamu Noguchi,Willem de Kooning[citation needed] andEdgar Kaufmann Jr., among others.[4]Wright was quoted: "Young Santiago's brush lines are elegant and his attitude gracious."[5]In 1929, Martínez was awarded first prize for the "Best advertisement illustration" by the US Federation of Commercial Artists. Shortly after, he won the Logan Medal for the Arts for his mural: "Colombian evolution" at the 1933 Chicago International World Fair and exposition. At the fair, Martínez also assisted with the Murals at the General Motors Exhibit, as Diego Rivera's commission was cancelled due to theLenin controversy in New York.
Martínez returned to Colombia in 1934 with an innovative line pioneering in the pictorial Art Deco style.[6] In 1936, Martínez founded the Art school and decoration at the Universidad Javeriana Femenina.From 1937 to 1940, he directed and illustrated the magazine "Revista Vida", which became the main outlet for cultural media at the time. It featured interviews of world-renowned artists likeJoan Miró and writers like his longtime friendGabriela Mistral.[7] He also made various illustrations for America, Anarkos, Cromos and PAN Magazines.
Martinez, who was an avid historian and protector of the Colombian artistic heritage, discovered a painting byRaphael de Urbino. This discovery started a debate among Colombian scholars that is now referred to as "The dilemma of (La Madonna de Bogotá) (Spanish:Lio de la Madona). Martinez Delgado managed to prove the provenance of the piece along with its authenticity with the use of X-rays and detailed forensic work. In 1939, he took the painting to New York City during the 1939 World's Fair, where experts from theMetropolitan Museum, theChicago Art Institute and theLouvre examined the painting. Among the experts were: Daniel Catton, Rich A. Sweet, Ruber H. Clark,Leo A. Marzolo,Adolfo Venturi andWilhelm Valentiner.[8] They all concurred with Master Martinez and confirmed its authenticity. The painting was included in the artist's catalog as the "Madonna of Bogotá."[9]
In 1940, Martínez participated in the firstSalón de Artistas Colombianos, where he won the Gold Medal for the oil on canvas "El que volvió"; the subsequent year, he won first prize for the oil on canvas "Interludio".[10] (Today at theColombian National Museum).In 1943, Martínez made his first major mural in Colombia at the school Presentación of Chapinero.In 1945, work started on the Cúcuta Cathedral stations, as well as the murals and carvings at the city's government building.That year, Martínez also illustrated the biography of Sucre, written by Carlos Arturo Caparroso (Editorial Horizontes, Bogotá), and was designated as a Member of the Historic Academy of Bogotá.In 1947, Martinez was commissioned by the HonorableAlberto Lleras Camargo, then-director of the OEA, and the HonorableLaureano Gómez, the Inter-American Conference organizer, to create the mural for the elliptic chamber of theNational Congress Building.[1]He finished thefresco in time for the Inter American conference. GeneralGeorge Marshall of the US called the piece a wonder of contemporary art,[11] and was relieved that the capital was spared from the fires during theBogotazo. Martinez was given the Cruz de Boyacá award by PresidentMariano Ospina Pérez.Martinez also became the premier historian onSimón Bolívar and his army during the 1940s and 1950s. His limited edition Iconography on Bolivar is considered the most accurate work on the image and resalable of Simón Bolívar.[12]
In 1948, Martínez founded a commercial art studio. In the following years, he made various well-recognized brand logos, illustrations, history books, and over 30 majestic murals in addition to many of his best-known paintings.During this period, he wrote and directed the dramatization of radio scripts, such as "El Virrey Solis", that broke all the ratings records for that year. Martínez also made plays, including "Estampas místicas de la tierra del Señor", "Juan Manuel el Gavilán" (unedited) and "El derecho de nacer".In 1953, he was commissioned byNelson Rockefeller to paint an oil on canvas of 8 x 4 meters (the largest Oil on Canvas in South America) for the Bank of New York in Bogotá, but he died before finishing it. It was placed on the bank, where it remains today as the largest oil on canvas in Colombia. Rockefeller, in a speech during the presentation of the painting to the public, called Martinez Delgado "the greatest Latin American artist of the decade".[13] (Today, the building is the Interior Ministry Building, and City Bank donated the painting to the Colombian Government.)
Martinez died on January 12, in the hacienda "El Molino", of a stroke.
On August 3 of the same year, the National Museum, with the collaboration of the Education Ministry, organized an exposition in his honor.
Martinez produced over 100 paintings in his career, in addition to murals, produced illustrations for books, lithographs, a great number of drawings, dozens of sculptures, and various other projects, including a large number of books and published articles, before passing at the age of 47. The list below has some of his most significant works.
Author: Santiago Martinez DelgadoEditorial:Bogotá : Ediciones de Santiago Martínez DelgadoYear: 1945
Author: Santiago Martinez DelgadoEditorial: Cali : Carvajalyear: 19--
Author: Santiago Martinez DelgadoEditorial: Bogotá : Tip. PragYear: 1945
Author: Santiago Martinez DelgadoEditorial: Bogotá VidaYear: 1941
Author: Santiago Martinez DelgadoEditorial:Bogotá VidaYear: 1942
Author: Santiago Martinez DelgadoEditorial: Santiago Martinez Edicion numerada 100Year: 1944
Author: Santiago Martinez DelgadoEditorial:Bogotá VidaYear:1939
Author: Santiago Martinez DelgadoEditorial:Bogotá SabadoYear: 1944
Author: Santiago Martinez DelgadoEditorial:Bogotá VidaYear: 1942
Author: Santiago Martinez DelgadoEditorial:Bogotá Vidayear:1936
Author: Santiago Martinez DelgadoEditorial: Bogotá Tipografía Pragayear: 1944
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