FINE ARTS

Many of the best writers or Latin America,however, are striving to model their workson the masterpieces of prose and poetry ofall time, and not simply on the literarystandards of Spain, Portugal or France.They are no less earnest, also, in their effortto choose their themes from national lifeand from life in the New World at large.In this attitude they are being upheld by areaction among the members of the readingpublic in behalf of native authors, whichmay enable them to enjoy an ampler fieldfor the display of their genius.

CHAPTER XXI

FINE ARTS

VIEWING the twenty republics as a whole,native drama, music, architecture, sculp-ture and painting appear to stand on Do

much lower level of achievement than nativeliterature. Though keenly appreciative ofall forms of beauty, the Latin American.so far as his own creative instinct is concernedprefers to give them expression in the writtenword. Other manifestations of the intel-lect and the imagination, which yield res-thetic pleasure, he is more content to drawfrom Europe, or to have the governmentfurnish them the needful encouragement.

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Talented as many of the native artistsare, they can hardly be compared, eitherin genius or productivity, with the great menof letters.In Latin America the promotion of the

fine arts is regarded as a distinct functionof the government, national or municipal.Through its operation the double purpose,presumably, is accomplished, of stimulat-ing native talent and of enhancingrefinement of taste among the peopleat large. Accordingly the governments inmost of the republics support outright, or arethe chief contributors to the maintenance, notonly of art galleries and museums, but oftheaters, opera-houses, conservatories ofmusic and schools of art. Expositions areheld under official auspices, and prizesare awarded for the best native productions.When unusually talented pupils are foundat any of the institutions, public or private,they are frequently given the means tostudy abroad. Cooperating, also, with theofficial agencies, numerous private organi-zations supply opportunities for nativeability to assert itself. All of these effortsto foster a love of the beautiful, of course,are seen to chief advantage in the nationalcapitals, and notably in Buenos Ayres, Riode Janeiro, Mexico, Santiago and Caracas.To the Latin-American artist, France aud

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Italy are the potent sources of inspirationand instruction. Paris. in particular. isthe mecca toward which he scts his face,and from which he hopes to gain the recog-nition that will bring him fame in his owncountry. The French and Italian schools,indeed, exercise a profound and far-reachinginfluence on the development of artisticconception and execution everywhere inLatin America.In the realms of drama and music. several

of the capital cities can boast of theatersand opera-houses comparable with the finestof their kind in Europe or the United States.The " National" in Mexico. the "Colon"(Columbus) in Buenos Ayres, and the"Municipal" in Rio de Janeiro and Santi-ago, are noteworthy examples of modernmagnificence and equipment in playhouses.Native dramatic talent being scant, nearly

all the stage productions are brought fromEurope. 'While the works of the classicalSpanish dramatists and of recent Spanishplaywrights, including the "zarzuela" orspecies of short play set to music, have acertain vogue, French and Italian pieces.given either in the original or in transla-tion, are especially popular. The actors,also, come chiefly from Spain, France andItaly.The Latin-American countries have pro-

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duced a number of excellent musicians, andnot a few composers of merit. As a rulethe efforts of the native composers are con-fined to the writing of patriotic and popularsongs. Where the music is not clearly ofEuropean origin, it commonly takes the formof marking the rythm of a dance or of ac-companymg a song.Grand opera is everywhere the great at-

traction, if the financial means are availablefor its support. In cities like Buenos Ayres,Rio de Janeiro, Santiago and Montevideo,it is presented on a sumptuous scale. Manya world-renowned conductor or singer hasmade his debut there. The companiesusually are Italian, and their repertoireconsists for the most part of Italian andFrench operas. The heavy dramatic musicof the Germans does not appeal so much tothe Latin-American temperament. Some ofthe earlier and more melodious Wagnerianoperas, and even the prelude and closingnumber of the "trilogy," are sung, but thenalmost always in Italian.Concerts and oratorios are frequently

given in the large cities. Chamber music isheard at times, but it is not particularlycared for. Band concerts in the publicsquares make abundant provision to meetthe more popular requirements.In nearly all of the national capitals the

FINE ARTS 245important public buildings are handsomein design and elaborate in construction.Lofty edifices are seen only in a few of thelargest cities. The houses rarely consistof more than two stories, and those of butone story are the commonest. Brick andstucco, rather than stone, are used as build-ing materials, mud and straw, however,being the chief components in the huts of thepoorer classes, especially in the tropicalareas. Many of the towns still preserve thequaint appearance of colonial times. Thisis notably true of their ecclesiastical build-ings, the great majority of which date fromthat period. There also, and even in thelarger cities, the streets are often no widerthan they were in the days of Spanish andPortuguese rule, and hence are apt tocause serious congestion of traffic.Of late years a marvelous work of trans-

formation has been effected in several of thenational capitals, such as Buenos Ayres,Rio de Janeiro, Mexico and Montevideo.In them, and even in a number of other urbancenters not so populous, the idea of the" citybeautiful "has been cultivated to a very grati-fying extent. Vast sums of money havebeen spent to make them representativeof the best that modern conditions of light,ventilation, cleanliness and attractivenessdemand. Broad highways and promenades

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have been built, fine public squares laid out.and charming parks and gardens constructed.the whole replete with fountains, statuaryand other embellishments.Under the direction of its municipal

art commission, Buenos Ayres, moreover.for some years past has been encouragingthe builders of private structures to renderthem handsome in appearance. It awardsannually a medal and a diploma to the archi-tect designing the best facade, and exemptsthe owner of the edifice that wins the prizefrom the payment of certain taxes. Abronze plate with a suitable inscriptionis affixed, also, to the front of the buildingthus chosen for distinction.

If the Latin-American republics havenot brought forth many dramatists, musi-cians and architects whose names andachievements are likely to be long remem-bered by their countrymen, the reverse istrue of the sculptors and painters, especiallyof those of Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Vene-zuela. They too have had to face some ofthe difficulties besetting the pathway of themen of letters, and in addition have had toencounter others peculiar to their own fieldsof activity.Much of the handiwork of colonial crafts-

men, and of many a European master, whichmight have served to kindle the enthusiasm

FINE ARTS ~·i7

and emulation of Latin-American artists,perished or disappeared during the courseof the struggle for independence and thepolitical agitation following it. The exam-ples that survived, and in particular thetreasures kept in the churches, were onlytoo often seized and sold in reckless fashionby governments, or revolutionists, to helpreplenish their war-chests. Later, whennormal conditions had been established,questions of material advancement crowdedout all thought of attention to the plasticand pictorial nrts, Not until the gradeof public welfare had reached a pointwhere it might. provide the needful money,leisure and understanding, could they ob-tain a fair amount of recognition.Like their con temporaries in the field of

literature, the Latin-American sculptors andpainters became obsessed with the idea thatEurope alone could furnish, not only theskill and technique required in their pro-fession, but the subjects for representationas well. Clinging persistently, and evenblindly, to Greek and French models, theworks t.hat came from their chisel and brushwere rarely more than mediocre and lifelesscopies. Such productions aroused neitherpleasure nor dislike; they were simplyto be looked at and forgotten. Only in thelast decade or two have some of the Latin-

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American artists begun to realize that, whilethey can derive immense advantage froma course of study under European masters,they should search primarily in their ownlands for the inspiration that will quickentheir creative impulse, and should striveto render the expression of it vigorouslyand soundly national.Even to-day, as a rule, the Latin-American

painter is so much under the spell of hisforeign teachers that he seldom attemptsto reproduce his native environment. Ob-livious to the physical beauties of his country,he ignores its landscapes. Nor does he findthe inspiration that he should in the inter-esting and often picturesque social typessurrounding him - types like the Indiansand the peasant classes in general, thecowboys, ranchmen, rural police and thelike. Studies of animal life rarely attracthim. Instead, he covers his canvases withrepresentations of historical episodes, or withthose of the genre order, the subjects of whichare frequently suggested from Europe. Hepaints portraits, also, and occasionally putsforth a religious picture.Regarded in its broad outlines, the work

of Latin-American painters, on the technicalside, is characterized more by the facilityof coloring and by tendencies to impres-sionism than by a solicitous regard for com-

FL1\'E ARTS

position and drawing, or by the inward qual-ities concerned in the appreciation of senti-ments and emotions. The external and ob-vious allurements of intensity in the disposi-tion of light and shade, thc temptation toproduce striking, and, in a measure, sensa-tional effects, are what appear usually tocaptivate their imagination.Still, in alluding to the deficiencies of both

sculptors and painters in Latin America,proper allowance must be made for the exis-tence of drawbacks not of their own choos-ing. The faults are often duc to defectiveconditions in their native countries, suchas a lack of good professional models, aninsufficient number of public museums or ofprivate collections, the mediocre quality ofmost of those actually available and thecomparative feebleness of financial incen-tives offered by local patrons of the fine arts.Of the national galleries in the capital

cities, those in Mexico, Rio de Janeiro,Santiago, Caracas and Buenos Ayres are themost noteworthy. That of Mexico datesfrom colonial times, and, in spite of themany vicissitudes through which its can-vases and sculptures have passed, still pre-serves much that is a tribute to Mexicangenius. The galleries in Rio dc Janeiroand Santiago, furthermore, enjoy thc ad-vantage of being housed in superb build-

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ings, recently erected as fitting homes forthe art treasures of the nations to whichthey belong.Although the several collectionsin question

are not comparable in any sense with those tobe seen in the great metropolitan cities ofthe world, they are often of considerableinterest and value. They contain, not onlychoice examples of the works of nativeartists, but originals and copies of produc-tions by many of the celebrated masters ofEurope.