Carlos Morel, precursor del arte argentino

Matienzo, the great-grand nephew of Carlos Morel, has written a short biography of this romantic painter, and supplied his text with a carefully prepared catalogue of Morel’s known works (divided into historical, religious, costumbrista and landscape paintings, portraits, miniatures, and lithographs). The plates (in black and white and color—the latter mostly of secondary quality) include the full range of Morel’s talents, as well as photographic portraits of the artist in later life and of his devoted sister, who aided him his last, clouded years. Born in Buenos Aires in 1813 (died 1894), Carlos Morel was one of the early masters of the local scene, reinforcing the nationalist enthusiasms of the period. His lithographs, like the slightly earlier ones of Linati in Mexico, are valuable records of mid-century life and costumes of the people—notably the gaucho. Sr. Matienzo’s text attempts to relate Morel to his cultural ambience; the staccato paragraphing of this meticulously researched material makes the presentation somewhat discontinuous. Alfredo González Garaño has provided a short preface.