Samudio, Juan A. (1879–1936)

Juan A. Samudio (b. 21 April 1879; d. 1936), Paraguayan artist. Often considered the finest Paraguayan painter of the twentieth century, Samudio was a native-born Asunceño. Though he received his early education in the capital city, he was irresistibly drawn to painting—an interest that he could little hope to pursue if he stayed in Paraguay. Thanks to a scholarship, he went to Rome in 1903 for five years of study.

In Italy, Samudio developed a painting style characterized by a careful interplay of shadows. He limited himself to traditional subjects and avoided the avant garde, but his work nonetheless received a measure of acclaim. He was already winning prizes while still a student in Rome. In 1910 he exhibited two canvasses at the International Exposition of Art in Buenos Aires. One of these, entitled Noche de luna, brought the artist a bronze medal and was later acquired by the National Museum in Asunción.

After his return to Paraguay, Samudio dedicated himself as much to teaching and to artistic theory as to painting. He became director of the Paraguayan Academy of Fine Arts, a position he held throughout the 1920s. He also cooperated with the municipal government of Asunción in the design of public parks and gardens.

See alsoArt: The Nineteenth Century .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

William Belmont Parker, Paraguayans of To-Day (1921), pp. 134-136.

Rafael Eladio Velázquez, Breve historia de la cultura en el Paraguay (1984), p. 246.

                                      Thomas L. Whigham