- Benito Quinquela Martín
-->Benito Quinquela Martín (
March 10 (?), 1890 —January 28 ,1977 ) was an Argentine painter born inLa Boca ,Buenos Aires . Quinquela Martín is considered the port painter-par-excellence and one of the most popular Argentine painters. His paintings of port scenes show the activity, vigor and roughness of the daily life in portuary La Boca.Early years
His birthday could not be determined precisely as he was abandoned on
March 21 ,1890 at anorphanage with a note that stated "This kid has been baptized, and his name is Benito Juan Martín". From his physical appearance, thenun s who found him deduced that he should be around ten days old; thusMarch 10 is regarded as his birthday.Adopted by Manuel and
Justina Molina de Chinchella when he was six years old, he adopted hisstepfather 's surname (which would later be hispanized as "Quinquela").At the age of 14 he attended a modest night school of drawing in
La Boca while working during day on the family'scoal-yard . When he became 17 years old he joined thePezzini Stiatessi Conservatory , where he stayed until 1920.International Exhibitions
By 1910 he had started appearing small art exhibitions, mainly in and around
La Boca . He obtained the second prize on the "Salón Nacional" ("Spanish", "National Exhibition") in 1920. After an exhibition atMar del Plata in the same year, he was sent as the Argentine representative to an exhibition inRio de Janeiro ,Brazil attended by local personalities including Brazilian presidentEpitacio Pessoa .By the 1920s Marcelo T. de Alvear and his wife were very fond of Quinquela Martín's works, and this admiration led to a lasting friendship. In 1922, Quinquela Martín was assigned as
chancellor of the ArgentineMadrid Consulate inSpain . On April, 1923 he exhibited at theCírculo de Bellas Artes ofMadrid . Two of his works were acquired by the institution ("Buque en reparación" and "Efecto de Sol"), while another two were acquired by the Museum of Modern Art of Madrid. In 1925 he set sail forFrance because—in his own words—"My trip to France is owed toPresident Alvear, who liked my works and wanted them to be judged byParis ". TheMuseum of Luxembourg acquired "Tormenta en el astillero".On 1927 he left for
New York , where he put part of his work on display at theAnderson Galleries . Accounts say two paintings were bought by "Mr. Havemeyer", who donated them to theMetropolitan Museum of New York. After this exhibition he made several others under sculptorGeorgette Blandi 's tutelage. Before returning toBuenos Aires , he was invited toHavana byConde Ribero to exhibit there.On 1929, on a trip to
Italy , he made an exhibition at thePalazzo delle Esposizioni inRome . The Museum of Modern Art of Rome acquired several paintings which were chosen byBenito Mussolini during the display. Quinquela Martín made his last trip in 1930, toLondon , where he exhibited at theBurlington Gallery . Several British museums acquired his paintings, including theMuseum of Arts of London ,Museum of Birmingham , Sheffield, Swansea, Cardiff, New Zealand andSt. James's Palace .Back in his homeland, he became a philanthropist and donated several works to
La Boca and the city ofBuenos Aires .He died in
Buenos Aires onJanuary 28 ,1977 , and was buried in theLa Chacarita Cemetery .Famous works
Among his most famous works are: "Tormenta en el Astillero" (
Musée du Luxembourg ,Paris ), "Puente de la Boca" (St. James's Palace ,London ) and "Crepúsculo en el astillero" (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes ,Buenos Aires ).External links
* [http://www.erasmuspc.com/index.php?id=18274&type=article Article on how Quinquela Martin changed Caminito in Buenos Aires]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.