Pintura Constructiva

Pintura Constructiva epitomizes Joaquín Torres-García’s signature style, which he coined Universal Constructivism. With the aim to represent the humanist spirit across historical times and cultures, between 1930 and 1932 he developed a visual vocabulary depicting an array of symbols inserted into gridded structures. With his singular, eclectic avant-garde position, the artist reconciled the abstract vocabulary of European modernism with the iconographic traditions of the ancient cultures of the Americas.

Upon settling in Paris in 1926, Torres-García’s artistic sensibility experienced a dramatic shift toward the visual principles of Neoplasticism, a mode of abstraction based on geometry as devised by Theo van Doesburg, Piet Mondrian and other members of De Stijl group. His mature style came to fruition through the assimilation of the Neoplastic grid, which symbolized a harmonious, utopian vision of the universe. However, by the end of 1930, Torres-García believed that pure forms could not fully express his humanist values. Notably, he wrote to van Doesburg: "I can’t stick strictly to a completely abstract art."

In Pintura Constructiva, a sequence of symbols is deployed within a gridded structure, resembling a taxonomy or inventory of sorts. Such configuration of motifs accentuates the idea of façade that Torres-García defined as the "cathedral style," a notion of painting as an articulated surface, such as an archaic stele, carved rock, or bas-relief. Over thirty signs or symbols can be identified in this picture, representing everyday life as well as the inner world of emotions with elements such as a bottle, fish, vase, cup, leaf, bell, key, anchor, clock, man, and woman. The sailboat and the house allude to travel and architecture respectively. The letters ABC at the center of the composition refer to the Roman alphabet. The number 57 stands for the Arabic numerals but also for the disciplines of mathematics and science. Fifty-seven was also the age of the artist when he painted this work. The sun, a striking presence on the upper left corner, symbolizes the universe and the forces of creation.

This rich, complex iconography attests to Torres-García’s notion that different aspects of reality co-exist within a hierarchical philosophical structure, which ascends from the instinctive or sensorial level to the realm of spirituality and emotion, ultimately reaching, at the highest level, the domain of the intellectual. Each symbol is intended to be read individually but also as part of a broader, abstract narrative that connects with the artist’s personal cosmology.