Pedro Figari (Montevideo Uruguay 1861 - idem 1938)
Pedro Figari was a Uruguayan painter, lawyer, politician, writer and journalist. He was born in Montevideo in 1861, the son of Juan Figari, a native of Santa Margherita Ligure. In an attempt to emigrate to Buenos Aires, his father's ship was wrecked and he managed to swim back to Montevideo. His father married Paula Solari, of the same origin, prospered and raised a large family.
As a teenager, he spent time at a farm located where the center of Tres Cruces stands today, with a shoreline on the bay, then a rural area. In this setting, he came into contact with aspects of society that would later become recurring themes in his paintings, such as Black communities, barracks and tenements.
In 1886, he graduated in law and, a few hours later, married María de Castro. The couple set off on a long honeymoon through Europe, a journey that had a great impact on his artistic development. Back in Montevideo, his first daughter was born in 1887, followed by five more girls and two boys.
Figari practiced law in both the public and private spheres, and was active in politics as a member of parliament, in journalism and as an adviser to President José Batlle y Ordóñez. He stood out for his campaign to abolish the death penalty and, as a public defender, gained renown for his role in the case of Alférez Almeida, who had been wrongly accused of murder. This defense, although it caused him financial and reputational difficulties, resulted in victories in several trials.
As director of the School of Arts and Crafts, later the Industrial School, he played an important role, but he stepped down after becoming disillusioned with the political disputes associated with the post.
He then devoted himself to painting, which he had always practiced as an amateur. In 1921, he sent works to an exhibition in Buenos Aires. Despite poor sales — he sold only one painting — he was very well received in cultural circles and settled in the city. In 1925, he sent works to Paris, where sales were better, which encouraged him to move there. He painted in Paris until 1933, returning to Montevideo the following year.
After his return, he did not paint again, although he still signed some older works. He did, however, continue organizing exhibitions, including one in Buenos Aires just hours before his death in Montevideo in 1938.
He was a compulsive writer, the author of thousands of pages on a wide range of subjects:
- The Almeida case
- The treatise "Arte, Estética, Ideal" [Art, Aesthetics, Ideal] (Essai de Philosophie Biologique)
- "História Kiria", a utopian treatise beautifully illustrated with his own drawings
- "The Architect", fables and poems in tribute to Juan Carlos, his son and right-hand man, who died in Paris in 1927 at the age of 33. He also illustrated this book.
- Short stories and plays
- An extremely extensive lifelong correspondence with family members, politicians, artists and philosophers.
Godofredo Sommavilla taught painting to Figari's wife, an opportunity Figari took to begin his own technical training. For years, Figari painted academic and naturalistic watercolors and oils, based on photographs, and copies for his children. He showed great skill as a draftsman, as revealed by his illustrations for the court records of the Almeida case, full of expressive caricatures of those involved.
Later, he began a phase of oils on canvas, mostly landscapes — many of them nocturnal. In these later phases, his works no longer included human figures, with rare exceptions, such as the “Venecias” series, in which a gondolier appears. Figari's artistic maturity began around 1919, with works in oil on cardboard, often with the ground visible between the brushstrokes, and a wide variety of themes. There is a notable absence of sports scenes and of children, except for a baby in the arms of a Black mother. The scenes depict urban and rural life, and also evoke historical events.
The titles of his works often include humor or irony, even when dealing with funereal or religious themes, while always remaining respectful. A spiritual evolution can be seen over his career: from a young atheist and anticlerical to someone who depicts religious ceremonies with sensitivity. In his writings, as at the end of The Architect (1928), he reflects this change when referring to his late son: “... we must find our cells again on the eternal path; and recognize each other, I hope.”
He evoked youth, customs and history with a sense of timelessness, treating events as everyday occurrences. His figures often cast no shadows, which makes them seem like spirits, except when lit by a specific light source, such as a lantern or a candle.
The illustrations in his writings, although they seem to be products of the imagination, clearly draw on memories and experiences. Figari can be considered self-taught to a certain extent, but his artistic path was built over almost six decades of preparation before he reached maturity at 58. He mastered theory before reaching the height of his practice — something already recognized in 1911 by Barradas, who caricatured him as “Dr. Pedro Figari, art critic”, many years before he devoted himself seriously to painting.
His training included frequent meetings with artists such as Moretti-Catelli and Milo Beretta, whose collection included works by Van Gogh. His homes in Montevideo, Buenos Aires and Paris were meeting places for painters, sculptors, musicians, philosophers and writers, including several Argentines who followed his career enthusiastically.
His six surviving children inherited around 2,400 works. Taking into account the sales and donations made during his lifetime, it is estimated that he produced around 4,000 oil paintings.
Much of this information comes from family tradition and remains open to revision, especially in light of recent studies on his life and work.
Source: Translation of the text by Fernando Saavedra Faget
