Cataratas del Iguazú (Iguazú Falls)

Location
Iguazú Falls, Misione Province, Argentina
Date
1916
Materials
Oil on canvas
Credit
Private collection, courtesy of Galería Sur Punta del Este
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Iguazú Falls, the natural border between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, is four times as wide as Niagara Falls and is made up of 270 separate waterfalls. The waterfall system became disputed territory during the Paraguayan War (1864-1870), which led to the establishment of political borders in the region. The ongoing and bloody conflict prevented a substantial tourist industry from forming around the falls into the late nineteenth century, but by the time Uruguayan artist Pedro Blanes Viale depicted the falls, they had become a major tourist destination in the region.