El Rodeo (The Rodeo)

Location
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date
1861
Materials
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
76 x 166 cm
Credit
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires. Donated by Alberto V. López, 3189
Locate on map View in timeline About the artist

Argentinian artist Prilidiano Pueyrredón was widely respected for his portrait practice, but his rural genre scenes were an important aspect of his artistic production as well. In El Rodeo he painted a range of rural tasks—men saddling a horse, shepherds herding cattle, horsemen keeping watch and participating in the rodeo—in a remarkably horizontal composition. Its low horizontal line grounds the work, emphasizing the flatness of the pampas, while the vast and fertile farmlands of Argentina give visual weight to the open sky. Though seemingly empty, the pampas were productive spaces, both for rearing cattle and for inspiring the region’s artists and writers.