“RED Pallière”: the art of traveling painters

The Fortabat Museum inaugurated the “RED Pallière” exhibition, an exhibition curated by Roberto Amigo that focuses on a talented family of artists from the 19th century. A luminous painting from the Galerie d’Apollon of the Louvre Museum, “defined as the monument of the most glorious times of France, sanctuary of national wealth”, is executed by Armand Julien Pallière in 1850 and opens the exhibition. The painting showcases the beauty of the architecture and art housed in the Gallery bathed in golden light. The view of the Louvre, given the qualities of the art gathered in the Fortabat, coincides with the taste for combining dazzling works of European art, such as those of Turner and Brüeghel, Dalí, Chagall or Gustav Klimt, together with the great Argentine paintings of Berni, Xul Solar or the harlequins of Emilio Pettoruti, among others. In this context, Roberto Amigo presents in “RED Pallière. Painting, family and friendship in the 19th century” an investigation that took him several years of searching and that managed to establish a close relationship with the art of traveling painters. The network of mostly related artists opens with the author of the Louvre Gallery, but is especially dedicated to tracing the path of his son, Jean León Pallière, born in 1823 in Rio de Janeiro and living in Argentina for several years. the decade from 1856 to ’66. Thanks to a chance encounter, several works by different members of the Pallière family are present in a display case. “In a traveler’s album kept under the family name and auctioned in Marseille, to the buyer’s surprise, there was a variety of authorships and eras,” observes Roberto Amigo. The history of the exhibition dates back to 1935, when the Friends Association of Art, Alejo B. González Garaño presented “Pallière”. “Today the works from the collections of Bonifacio del Carril, González Garaño or Pereda are in other private hands except for seven that belong to the National Museum of Fine Arts,” indicates the curator. He then adds that the great value of the exhibition consists in the recovery of works that were repatriated by collectors, many were already believed lost and others were unknown. And from this set you can discover the enormous qualities of the artist as an excellent painter and colorist. “Although Jean León Palliêre was known more for his lithographs and drawings, he was one of the great artists who was inspired by landscapes. and people of his time during his stay in the country.” The story traces the artist’s travels, his round trip by land from Buenos Aires to Valparaíso. Then, the brief tours from 1960 to 1963 through Uruguay, southern Brazil and the Argentine coast. From his sketches, notes and watercolors taken from life, Jean León Pallière designed his famous lithographic album “American Scenes. 1864-1865”, made up of 52 plates and published by Julio Pelvilain. FeaturedThere is a letter published in the newspaper “La Tribuna” on February 26, 1864, where Pallière’s most important works stand out and among them, they mention: “Tropa de cartes en la pampa”, “El payador”, “Idilio criollo” , “The Cradle” (rescued as “a charming oil painting”) and “Porteñas ladies in the church.” The text describes the representation of some women standing and others kneeling with the mantilla on their heads, “according to the custom of the country, when they go to church. Most of the women in this oil composition are portraits, and we understand that the painter, a good connoisseur, did not choose the less beautiful Buenos Aires women.” In the analysis of the painting exhibited in the Fortabat, the curator observes that it belonged to the Jaime Llavallol collection, based in Ramallo, frequented by the painter. He then points out that “the Llavallols were portrayed twenty years earlier by Raymond Q. Monvoisin, who was also captivated by the seductive image of the Buenos Aires lady seated on her carpet.” With this reference to the famous and dramatic work of the women praying, he establishes the difference with “the two ladies in the foreground who comment in a low voice, with the protection of the fan, on some social gossip. It is the image of feminine sociability, more than that of a religious custom, an aspect accentuated by the successful treatment of the fabrics of the fashionable dresses. Thus, this subtle detail distances Pallière from the idea of ​​​​representing the concept of Christian virtue, like that of his aforementioned artistic predecessor in the Río de la Plata. The curator presents the diversity of the compositional possibilities of the theme that, reiterated throughout his stay in the region, is expressed with two other attractive works. Between the traditional themes and the paintings of characters, the representation of the Crusade emerged in 1863. liberating, the revolution led by the Colorado (liberal) leader Venancio Flores. The episode that Pallière’s painting represents occurred in January 1864, when his troops besieged the town of Paysandú, defended by the army of the legitimate government of Prudencio Berro, under the command of Lucas Píriz. Roberto Amigo highlights that a new siege, this time with the support of the Brazilian squadron and imperial troops, was the trigger for the Paraguayan War. The chronicle by the Frenchman John Le Long highlights Pallière’s ability to account for the racial diversity in a group, of all colors, ages and clothing. After a century, Julio Payró would define Pallière as “the most acute and sensitive chronicler of the life of the Argentine countryside in the first years of the organization.” Perhaps the greatest value of the exhibition is to discover our true origin, to know who we are and where we come from.