Gabriel Bracho
Encyclopedia
Gabriel Bracho was a Venezuelan artist born in Los Puertos de Altagracia on 25 May 1915. He and Cesar Rengifo were major exponents of the social realism
artistic movement in Venezuela. His work is permeated by social, political and historical themes.
From 1936 to 1939 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Caracas and he continued his studies at the Escuela de Artes Aplicadas in Chile until 1942. In 1943 he began a tour of various countries including the USA, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay and Italy which culminated in him living and working in Paris.
Initially influenced by the impressionists, expressionists and cubists he embraced the nationalistic and revolutionary trends of the Mexican muralists. He returned to Venezuela in 1950 and exhibited in the Caracas Museum of Fine Arts. In 1951 he exhibited at the museum of fine arts in Caracas and in 1953 he completed work on his first major mural "Venezuela" (now destroyed). He traveled to Mexico where met and compared notes with his friends Diego Rivera
and David Alfaro Siqueiros
amongst others and in 1957 he exhibited his work at the palace of fine art in Mexico City.
In 1958, he returned to Venezuela and with others founded the Taller de Arte Realista group. In 1960 he completed the mural "Cuba" located in La Casa de las Américas in Habana.
In 1976 he won the first prize at the Exposición de Pintura Realista Comprometida in Bulgaria and in 1986 was awarded the Armando Reveron prize.
In 1994 he held a major exhibition in the Venezuelan national gallery and in the same year was awarded the prestigious Premio Nacional de Artes Plásticas.
He died in Caracas on 6 March 1995.
His main works include Nochebuena de los Negros, Tierra, Stalingrado, Petróleo, Horoshima, El Abanderado, Manifestación and the murals Venezuela (1952–1953), Lino de Clemente (1966–1967), Diversiones, Venezuela (1971–1972), and Boyacá (1983) located in the presidential palace Miraflores.
His home in Los Puertos de Altagracia is now a museum dedicated to his memory and work.
Social realism
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
artistic movement in Venezuela. His work is permeated by social, political and historical themes.
From 1936 to 1939 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Caracas and he continued his studies at the Escuela de Artes Aplicadas in Chile until 1942. In 1943 he began a tour of various countries including the USA, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay and Italy which culminated in him living and working in Paris.
Initially influenced by the impressionists, expressionists and cubists he embraced the nationalistic and revolutionary trends of the Mexican muralists. He returned to Venezuela in 1950 and exhibited in the Caracas Museum of Fine Arts. In 1951 he exhibited at the museum of fine arts in Caracas and in 1953 he completed work on his first major mural "Venezuela" (now destroyed). He traveled to Mexico where met and compared notes with his friends Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
and David Alfaro Siqueiros
David Alfaro Siqueiros
José David Alfaro Siqueiros was a social realist painter, known for his large murals in fresco that helped establish the Mexican Mural Renaissance, together with works by Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, and also a member of the Mexican Communist Party who participated in an...
amongst others and in 1957 he exhibited his work at the palace of fine art in Mexico City.
In 1958, he returned to Venezuela and with others founded the Taller de Arte Realista group. In 1960 he completed the mural "Cuba" located in La Casa de las Américas in Habana.
In 1976 he won the first prize at the Exposición de Pintura Realista Comprometida in Bulgaria and in 1986 was awarded the Armando Reveron prize.
In 1994 he held a major exhibition in the Venezuelan national gallery and in the same year was awarded the prestigious Premio Nacional de Artes Plásticas.
He died in Caracas on 6 March 1995.
His main works include Nochebuena de los Negros, Tierra, Stalingrado, Petróleo, Horoshima, El Abanderado, Manifestación and the murals Venezuela (1952–1953), Lino de Clemente (1966–1967), Diversiones, Venezuela (1971–1972), and Boyacá (1983) located in the presidential palace Miraflores.
His home in Los Puertos de Altagracia is now a museum dedicated to his memory and work.