La galería de retratos de hombres y mujeres del noroeste argentino de Ernesto Soto Avendaño

This article analyses the sculptural group of 10 bronze heads made by the artist Ernesto Soto Avendaño, which were acquired by the Museo de La Plata (MLP) in 1936. The work first characterizes the artistic career of the author, pointing out some relationships with his theme and style choices. Since their acquisition, the heads have been displayed in the rotunda on the upper floor of the Museum building: five of them represent northern gauchos who tamed wild horses and were drovers, while the other five represent camelid-hunting natives from the same region. The artist used as models ten individuals that inhabited the provinces of Salta and Jujuy, where he had travelled to build a Monument to the Heroes of Independence in the city of Humahuaca. Several works were derived from his preliminary studies, including those produced between 1931 and 1935 that are currently on display at MLP. These sculptures were acquired in the context of the artistic nationalism of the time and the illustrative value attributed to the pieces for the enhancement of the ethnographic collections

Art · Humanities · Argentine historical studies · Historical Art and Architecture Studies · Photographic and Visual Arts