Pueyrredón, Prilidiano (1823-1870)
Ciego popular en Cádiz (Popular blind man in Cadiz)
s.d.
Watercolor on paper, 26.5 x 17.5 cm
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires
Costumbrista scene whose main interest lies in the fact that it is a work produced during his stay in Cádiz, of which few examples survive, although in the will of Prilidiano Pueyrredón (AGN) two “Spanish custom oil paintings” are recorded, one of good format for its price ($2000, acquired by Mesquita) and another of lesser value ($800, by his cousin Albarellos).
Created within the framework of popular painting of Andalusian art of the 19th century, it acquires the value of being the first example of a popular painting by Pueyrredón. In this sense, the street scene of a vendor with a child about to play a joke on him is reminiscent of El naranjero (private collection), painted twenty years later. The descriptive nature, a constant in his work, is confirmed in details such as the patch on the trousers.
Despite its simplicity and humorous nature, the scene is complex: in addition to the main figure and the child, there is a family group in the background in a doorway, and a couple behind the blind man, with the woman practically hidden. The diversity of brushstrokes used to resolve details is notable compared to the homogeneous brushstrokes of later paintings, especially in the oil paintings. (Roberto Amigo | MNBA)