Under the direction of Cecilia De Torres
Assisted by Susanna V. Temkin, Madeline Murphy Turner, and Victoria L. Fedrigotti
Catalogue Entry
1942.10 (estate: 1037)
Idea
Alternate title: Representación de la Idea
c.1942
Oil on wood
44 x 4 1/2 in. (111.5 x 11.5 cm)
Signed verso: J. Torres-GARCIA
This third figure from the artist's Amerindian Theogony series, represents the spirit, and is perhaps a combination of 'Viracocha the Creator' [an Incan god] and the 'Nous' as defined by Plotinus. (Cecilia de Torres in Abstraction: The Amerindian Paradigm, p. 254).
Private collection
Provenance
Exhibitions
Museo Torres-García, Montevideo, Uruguay, March 1959, no. 23, as Representación de la Idea.
The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Joaquín Torres García 1874-1949, October 2–November 1, 1970, no. 82, ill., p. 110. Traveled to: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, December 12, 1970–January 31, 1971; Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, February 16–March 31, 1971.
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana, Art of the Fantastic: Latin America, 1920-1987, July 28–September 13, 1987, ill., p. 83. Traveled to: The Queens Museum, Flushing, New York, October 10–December 6, 1987; Center for Art, Miami, January 15–March 4, 1988; Centro Cultural/Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, March 25–May 2, 1988.
The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Galleries, Texas, El Taller Torres-García-The School of the South and Its Legacy, September–December 1991, no. 21, ill., p. 103. Traveled to: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, June–August 1991; Museo de Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, January–April 1992; The Bronx Museum, New York, September 1992–January 10, 1993; Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, February–May 1993.
Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg, France, Joaquín Torres-García: un monde construit, May 24–September 8, 2002, ill., p. 222. Traveled to: Museo Colecciones ICO, Madrid, October 22, 2002–January 6, 2003 (Joaquín Torres-García: un mundo construido).
Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) Centre Julio González, Valencia, Spain, El fuego bajo las cenizas (de Picasso a Basquiat), May 5–August 28, 2005.
Musée Maillol, Fondation Dina Vierny, Paris, Le feu sous les cendres, de Picasso à Basquiat, October 8, 2005–February 13, 2006, ill., p. 52.
Acquavella Galleries, New York, The Worlds of Joaquín Torres-García, April 12–May 25, 2018, plate 69, ill., p. 205, as Representación de la Idea.
Published References
Exposición Antológica Torres-García. Madrid: Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo, 1973. Exhibition catalogue, ill. p. 33.
Vernazza, Eduardo. "Los 99 años de J.Torres García: Exposición en el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Madrid." El Día, July 29, 1973, ill.
Braun, Barbara. "Joaquín Torres-García: The Alchemical Grid." In Pre-Columbian Art and the Post-Columbian World, Ancient American Sources of Modern Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1993, ill. p. 280.
Maslach, Adolfo. Joaquín Torres-García: sol y luna del arcano. Caracas: UNESCO, 1998, ill. detail p. 579, no. 375.
de Torres, Cecilia. "Pilgrimage to the sources of Amerindian art." In Abstraction: the Amerinidian Paradigm. Brussels: Societé des Expositions du Palais des Beaux Arts, 2001. Exhibition catalogue, ill. p. 255, fig. 11.
Gradowczyk, Mario H. Torres-García: Utopía y Transgresión. Montevideo: Fundación Torres-García, 2007. Exhibition catalogue, ill. p. 124, no. 4.39. .
Fundación Caixa Girona. Torres-García Darrere la màscara constructiva. Girona, 2007. Exhibition catalogue, ill. p. 28, fig. 10.
Sanchez Vidal, Agustin. Joaquín Torres-García. Madrid: Fundacio MAPFRE Instituto de Cultura, 2012, ill. p. 33.
Record last updated July 20, 2023. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: de Torres, Cecilia, Susanna V. Temkin, Madeline Murphy Turner, and Victoria L. Fedrigotti. "Idea, c.1942 (1942.10)." In Joaquín Torres-García Catalogue Raisonné. www.torresgarcia.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=1843 (accessed on April 20, 2025).