For many reasons this beautiful painting has a historic value in Pedro Figari’s production. To start with, the format is infrequent, as infrequent is the treatment of colour, with pale blue and lilac walls, that change from cold to warm due to the relation with the adjacent shades. This piece of art was part of a pair with another painting entitled “Los reyes van a visitar al Gobernador” (The kings go to visit the governor).[1]
“A casa de gobernador” (1925) is linked with the above mentioned painting because it has the same dimensions, the palette used suggests a closeness in time, both reproduce the same scene from two “temporal” viewpoints (the departure of carriages to visit the governor in Montevideo) and because both were part of the collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts (Today National Museum of Visual Arts). [2]
The scene, perhaps viewed by Figari in his childhood, is evoked in painting with a surprising vivacity. Contributing to this the colourful gesticulation of the characters and the suggested movement of the wheels of the carriage and the horse's legs, that intermingle and multiply, a resource validated by the first futuristic vanguards but that in Figari finds an integration that adjusts perfectly to his style. Dimension: 34 x 70 cm. Framed work: 36.5 x 83.5 cm. circa 1925.
[1] It was destroyed in a fire in Colombia together with other paintings by Figari and other domestic painters, during the riots of the so called “Bogotazo”.
[2] During the 9th Pan-American Conference in Bogotá, April 1948.
Good condition. It is stored in vertical racks under a controlled environment.
Pictorial work. Oil on cardboard
Pictorial work from the collection of the Figari Museum. It is part of the rotation of works in the exhibit halls in order to allow access by the public.
Pedro Figari
