Hispanism and art collecting in Uruguay (1910-1940). The pinacotheques of Felix Ortiz de Taranco and Fernando García Casalia

Abstract

The article studies two important Spanish art collections gathered in Montevideo by the businessmen and collectors Félix Ortiz de Taranco
(1866-1940) and Fernando García Casalia (1887-1945). These galleries were bequeathed to the Uruguayan state in the 1940s, and today have become part of the country’s artistic heritage. The article analyzes how these private galleries were formed, and the impact that Hispanism as a cultural movement had on the art consumption of the period. It also explores the relationship between the local art market and the economic and social development of Spanish immigrants. Both collectors’ cultural consumptions models are examined by comparing their collections, analyzing some emblematic paintings and exploiting documentary sources which had had not been previously researched.