Sergio de Castro (artist)
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Sergio de Castro (15 September 1922 – 31 December 2012) was an Argentinian artist.


Biography

Sergio de Castro was born in
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, in an aristocratic family of Spanish origins ( Galicia and the
Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...
), the House of Castro. His father was a diplomat, which is why, from 1923 until 1932, Castro lived in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
with his parents and his two sisters. During these years he visited cities like
Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
, Geneva and
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
. In 1933 he entered a Jesuit school in
Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
and he started studying music. He discovered poetry by learning to speak and write in Spanish. He was specially touched by the works of César Vallejo. Through the years Castro would become close friends with writers like Octavio Paz,
Julio Cortázar Julio Florencio Cortázar (26 August 1914 – 12 February 1984; ) was an Argentine, nationalized French novelist, short story writer, essayist, and translator. Known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, Cortázar influenced an ent ...
,
Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...
, Kostas Papaioannou and
Georges Schehadé Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia *Georges Quay (Dublin) *Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses *Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 1977 ...
. Later, during a trip to Uruguay, he met
Joaquín Torres García Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger * Joaquín (footballer, born 1982), ...
, with whom he studied painting and monumental art from 1941 until 1949. In 1942 he moved to Argentina, where he would live until 1949. Castro was also friends with other artists like Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas,
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (13 June 1908 – 6 March 1992) was a Portuguese abstract painter. She was considered a leading member of the European abstract expressionism movement known as Art Informel. Her works feature complex interiors and ...
and
Árpád Szenes Árpád Szenes (also french: Árpád Szenès; 6 May 1897, Budapest – 16 January 1985, Paris) was a Hungary, Hungarian-Jewish Abstract art, abstract painter who worked in France.
. In 1945 he found a job as a secretary in the Astronomy Observatorium of the city of Córdoba, where we also worked as the assistant to the musician Manuel de Falla in
Alta Gracia Alta Gracia is a city located in the north-centre of the province of Córdoba, Argentina. Its name means "High Grace". It is built upon the ''Sierras Chicas'', in a region that the Comechingón Indians used to call ''Paravachasca''. It has abou ...
, until his death in 1946. In 1945 and 1946 he had a grant from the French government to study musical composition. During the year of 1946 he had an exhibition in New York City among other members of Torres García's workshop. That same year he travelled to the northeast of Argentina and the south of Perú to study pre-Columbian art with
Gonzalo Fonseca Gonzalo Fonseca (2 July 1922 – 11 June 1997) was a Uruguayan artist known for his stone sculpting. He originally studied to be an architect at the University of Montevideo, but discovered modern art in 1942 after working in the Taller Torre ...
, Julio Uruguay Alpuy and Jonio Montiel. In 1949 he started teaching History of Music in the new music school of the city of
La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
. His work as a musician drew attention from relevant figures such as Wilhelm Furtwängler, Aaron Copland and Juan José Castro. He quit this job when he got a grant from the French government to improve his musical studies in Paris, where he settled in November 1949. Since 1951 he devoted himself exclusively to painting. In 1955, his friend the German writer and translator Edith Aron introduced him to Julio Cortázar, who would become a close friend of him. Castro inspired the character of Etienne in Cortázar's novel ''Rayuela'' ( ''Hopscotch''). In the book is featured the intimate friendship of the protagonist, Horacio Oliveira, with his companion in the Serpent Club, whom he often visited in his studio in Paris. In 1960 he won the Hallmark Prize in New York. In 1979 he obtained French nationality. In 1980 he showed his works at the Argentinian pavilion in the 39th
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
. He was associate professor in the Human Sciences Faculty of the
University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...
from 1981 until 1986. In 1997 he became Officer in the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
. In 2006, Sergio de Castro made a 220-work donation to the Fine Arts Museum of
Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; br, Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography Ginastera was born in Buen ...
, who made reference to Sergio de Castro and his first works in his notes on modern Argentinian music. Castro died on 31 December 2012 in Paris. He is buried in the
Montparnasse cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery (french: link=no, Cimetière du Montparnasse) is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery ...
, in Paris, close to his dear friend Samuel Beckett.


Monumental works

* Two wall paintings for the Martirené Pavilion of the Hospital Saint-Bois (1942), in Montevideo (Uruguay), in collaboration with Joaquín Torres García and his disciples, among which Castro was the youngest. * ''The Creation of the Universe'' (1956–1958), 6m x 20m stained-glass window. Castro worked with painter and glass-maker J. J. K. Ray (1898–1979) in Paris. This window is the church of the Monastery of the Benedictines in Couvrechef- La Folie (
Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Jean Zunz Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...
. * ''Redemption'' (1968–1969), 4,5 x 17m
stained-glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
window for Lutheran temple Dietrich Bonhoeffer Kirche in Hamburg-Dulsberg (Germany). Architect: Gerhart Laage. * ''The Prophets'' (1978–1981), five stained glasses for pre-existent windows in the 15th-century Collegiate of Romont ( Fribourg),
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. * Wall painting for Yonne public library, in
Saint-Georges-sur-Baulche Saint-Georges-sur-Baulche () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. It is twinned with the affluent English village of Little Aston. See also *Communes of the Yonne department The following i ...
, in Auxerre (France). * Wall paintings on the subject of chemistry (numbers and letters) for the company Atochem in Paris
La Défense La Défense () is a major business district in France, located west of the city limits of Paris. It is part of the Paris metropolitan area in the Île-de-France region, located in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in the communes of Courbevoie, ...
, now renamed Arkema. File:Sergio de Castro, Verrière de la Création du Monde, 1956-59.jpg, The Creation of the Universe, Monastery of the Benedictines, Couvrechef-La Folie, Caen, 1956–59. File:Sergio de Castro, 7e jour de la Création, Le Repos Divin, 1956-59.jpg, The 7th Day of Creation from the Couvrechef window. File:Sergio de Castro, vitrail de Moïse, le Buisson Ardent.jpg, The Burning Bush, Moses window. Collegiate of Romont, Switzerland, 1980. Photo by Dominique Souse. File:Sergio de Castro, vitrail de Jonas.jpg, Jonas window (detail). Collegiate of Romont, Switzerland, 1980. Photo by Dominique Souse. File:Sergio de Castro, vitrail de l'arbre de Jessé.jpg, Tree of Jesse, Isaiah window (detail). Collegiate of Romont, Switzerland, 1980. Photo by Dominique Souse. File:Sergio de Castro, vitrail du char d'Elie.jpg, Elias window (detail). Collegiate of Romont, Switzerland, 1980. Photo by Dominique Souse.


Selected exhibitions

* 1952 Galerie Jeanne Castel Paris * 1954 Galería Bonino Buenos Aires and Galerie
Pierre Loeb Pierre Loeb (born September 24, 1897, in Paris; died May 4, 1964) was a French art dealer and gallery owner who focused primarily on Surrealism and 20th-century Modernism. In 1924 he founded the Galerie Pierre in Paris, whose most famous exhibition ...
, Paris * 1956 Galerie Rive Gauche, Paris * 1958 Matthiesen Gallery, London * 1959
documenta 2 II. documenta was the second edition of documenta, a quinquennial contemporary art exhibition. It was held between 11 July and 1 October 1959 in Kassel, West Germany. The artistic director was Arnold Bode in collaboration with art historian Werne ...
''Kunst nach 1945''
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
* 1961 Matthiesen Gallery, London * 1963–64 Galeria Lorenzelli,
Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
and
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
* 1964 Galería Bettie Thommen,
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
* 1965 Kunstverein Hamburg ''Retrospektive'' * 1966 Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Fribourg, Switzerland (retrospective) * 1966 Recklinhausen, ''Variationen über ein Thema'', Städtische Kunsthalle * 1970 ''Retrospektiven'' in
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Kunstforering, and Kunst Industriemuseet,
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, Kunstforening,
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Kunstforening, Holstebro * 1972 Wildenstein Gallery, London ''Landscapes of Light'' * 1974 Galerie Jacob, Paris * 1975 Kunsthalle Bremen, ''Retrospektive'',
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
Tempelhof, Kunstamt (Berlin Festival) * 1975–76 Retrospective exhibition the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen (68 artworks from 1956 to 1966), France * 1979 ''Hommage à Pierre Loeb'', Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris * 1980 39th
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
* 1987 French Institute London. Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires * 1988 Galerie des Ambassades y Galerie Galarte, Sergio de Castro, ''Natures Mortes'', 1958–1965. Paris/ Bayeux, Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art * 1989 Galerie des Ambassades, Paris * 1991–92 Romont, Swiss Stained Glass Museum (Castro Donation) * 1995 Paris, Galarté Gallery * 1997 Paris La Défense, Atochem * 1998 Punta De Este, Sur Gallery, Punta del Este, Uruguay * 2006–07 Saint-Lô, Normandy, exhibition of the Castro Donation * 2008 Château de Gruyères, Switzerland, Sergio de Castro * 2009 Museo Gurvich Montevideo, Uruguay, Francine Del Pierre and Fance Franck's Workshop, Paris


Bibliography

* Denys Sutton, ''Sergio de Castro'', Le Musée de Poche, Paris, 1963. * Jacques Thuillier, ''Les Prophètes'', Madrid, Ediciones El Viso, 1984. * (es) Jacques Thuillier, ''Los Profetas'', Madrid, Ediciones El Viso, 1984. * Étienne Chatton, ''Nouveaux signes du sacré : Le vitrail contemporain'', Lausanne, Fribourg, Coédition Loisirs et Pédagogie, Fragnière, 1985. * (es) Marie-Pierre Colle-Corcuera, ''Artistas latinoamericanos en su estudio'', México, Noriega Editores, 1994. * Jacques Thuillier, ''Sergio de Castro : 60 ans de création'', 1944–2004, Paris, Somogy, 2006. * Véronique David,
Castro et le défi du vitrail
", dans ''In Situ, revue des patrimoines'', 2009, no 123.


External links


Sergio de Castro (official website)

Vimeo – Sergio de Castro official profile
* Henri Raynal
"Innombrables sont les voies"
in ''Revue du MAUSS permanente'', 11 décembre 2012. Article on some contemporary artists, including Castro. * Jacques Poloni-Simard
"Le muralisme des années 1930 et 1940 dans les pays du Río de la Plata"
in ''Nuevo Mundo Mundos Nuevos'', 2014. * Jacques Poloni-Simard
"Le 'voyage des Andes' des artistes du Río de la Plata au XXe siècle"
in ''Artelogie'', 2014.

with works by Sergio de Castro for the Monastery of the Benedictines in Couvrechef-La Folie (Caen).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Sergio de 1922 births 2012 deaths Argentine artists Argentine expatriates in France Argentine expatriates in Switzerland Argentine expatriates in Uruguay