RÓMULO ROZO (1899–1964)
'LA MUSICA', 1925
bronze, raised on a slate plinth, inscribed in the bronze plinth RÓMULO, signed with monogram and dated in the bronze plinth (twice) RR/ PARIS/ 1925, signed, inscribed and dated to the reverse RR/ 1925/ ESVENO, with foundry stamp MARONI RADICE/ CIRE PERDUE/ PARIS
bronze 31.5cm high, with plinth 36cm high
The first few decades of the twentieth century were a turbulent era for Columbian art. Bogota born sculptor Romulo Rozo (1899-1964) sat at the heart of this changing artistic climate, educated within and inspired by both European and indigenous artistic traditions. His work’s incorporation of Pre-Columbian motifs and myth resulted in him becoming an enduring figurehead for the art of his homeland and its distinctive identity. Colonial activities in Colombia and movement of artists between Europe and Latin America fostered strong Spanish and French influences in the art scene in Columbia at the conclusion of the 19th century. The founding of the School of Bogota at the start of the 20th century however, heralded a desire to free Colombian art from European models. Nevertheless, just a couple of decades later and under political pressure to promote Spanish heritage as a model for society and the arts, the pendulum swung back the other way, as the Circle of Fine Arts was established. This organisation favoured artists following the academic tradition seen in Madrid. Rozo was born in Bogota in 1899 and first enrolled at the National School of Fine Arts in his home city. As was politically popular, he then followed a European training route, travelling to Spain where he studied for four years, before completing his education in Paris. Here he worked with sculptors including Paul Landowski, known for his work Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, and Antoine Bourdelle. This mixture of European and Latin American training is evident in his work La Musica. Executed in 1925, during his time in France, it reflects the two locations of Rozo’s training; the impressed decoration and highly textural protrusions have visual parallels in indigenous Columbian art, but the figure’s contrapposto pose and realistic form draw heavily on the European classical tradition. Executed in the same year as La Musica, the granite sculpture Bachué would become his most celebrated and famous work. To the indigenous Muisca people of modern-day Colombia, Bachué is the mother goddess of humanity.  Rozo’s sculpture depicts the two parts of the Muiscan origin of humanity myth; the goddess emerging from the water holding a child and snakes returning to the lake having populated the earth. The sculpture reached its zenith at the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition in Seville, an extended exhibition celebrating the links between Spain and Latin America. It sat in a fountain at the heart of the Columbian pavilion, the carvings and façade scheme of which were also designed by Rozo. Such was the impactful presentation of the almost life-size work that it was awarded a prize. This exposure and recognition thrust Rozo into the artistic spotlight and cemented Bachué as a landmark in Colombian art. Rozo’s sculpture was adopted as a symbol for what was later named the Bachué Group; artists and writers in the late 1920s looking to champion indigenous concerns within contemporary Colombian art. In June 1930 they published ’Monografia del Bachué’ in the newspaper El Tiempo, a document regarded by some as their quasi-manifesto. The group sought a return to their country’s roots by putting local and indigenous culture foremost in the arts. The legacy of their work survives today under the Proyecto Bachué, a platform for managing activities related to Colombian arts and acting to promote and support contemporary creative enterprises.Bachué represented a pivotal moment in Rozo’s personal artistic development, by cementing the Pre-Columbian visual language in which he primarily would work for the rest of his life. Thus, La Musica provides a touchstone with Rozo’s period of self-discovery, as he experimented with combining European and Latin American models before fully embracing his roots. Further, the sculpture illustrates the wider cultural interests of the man behind the chisel. In addition to his artistic contributions, Rozo was involved in the Columbian musical offering at the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition. He performed disguised as a peasant with the Columbian duo Wills and Escobar, their act showcasing another form of indigenous art. La Musica depicts a musician deep in reverie, a state with which Rozo was perhaps familiar. After his success in Paris, Rozo relocated to Mexico in 1931 where he worked for ten years as a member of the Columbian government’s cultural department. Surrounded by Mayan culture, Rozo incorporated these influences into various projects, most notably in Monumento a La Patria in Mérida (1956). Despite his early acclaim, he died a poor man in Yucatan in 1964. Throughout his life he used art to pursue his indigenous ancestors with a tenacity bordering on the obsessive, La Musica representing a crucial part of his search for an authentic creative identity.