(b. Bolivia, 1883; d. 1953). One of the main figures in Bolivian art of the early twentieth century, Borda began by creating eclectic, detailed portraits of family members. His 1943 portrait of his parents was significant for its time. A growing sense of social commitment led him to work within Indigenism and portray native Bolivians, often within powerful local landscapes. Some of his allegorical works conveyed critiques of society, such as the 1918 Filicidio. During a second phase of development Borda penned an autobiographical novel, The Madman, published after his death in 1966. In his Critique of "isms" and the Triumph of Classical Art of 1948, Borda used specific figures that reject or approved artistic ideals. A laughing "mother earth" rejects Indigenism, while the Bolivian Mount Illimani, the Parthenon, the Venus de Milo, Homer, and Pericles reign. From 1950 to 1953 Borda experimented with color abstraction, and the resulting works seem to foresha
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