| Name: |
Roberto Matta Echauren Matta
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| Year of Birth & Death: |
(1911 - ?)
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| Biography: |
Beginning in 1929, Matta studied architecture at the Academia de Bellas Artes in Santiago, where he was born. In 1934, he went to Paris to study under Le Corbusier, who allowed him to help in the planning of the "Radiant City." He spent 1935 through 1937 in Spain, where he was introduced to Dali. Dali introduced Matta to Andre Breton. In 1941, Matta made a trip to Mexico from New York, where he was residing, and began to paint The Earth is a Man (1941). He was described by Marcel Duchamp, in 1944, as "the most profound painter of his generation." He moved to Rome in 1949 and remained there until 1955, continuing to paint. In 1957, his retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York established his reputation, and in 1958, he painted a mural entitled Three constellation beings facing the fire for the UNESCO building in Paris.
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