On the trail of the painter Eudaldo Morales

ART – ON DEMAND – DOCUMENTARY

If the title is mysterious, the documentary is no less so: it begins with the discovery, on the banks of the Loire, of an abandoned house, covered in ivy and with a partially collapsed roof. But inside, under the dust and piles of cobwebs, everything is intact, as if the inhabitants of the place had suddenly left, leaving everything behind. Everything, that is, painter’s material, easel, tubes and brushes, but also some sculptures of pre-Columbian inspiration, correspondence – written mainly in Spanish – and photographic negatives.

Based on that material, and the testimony of a neighbor who we later learned was much more than that, Benjamín Delattre set out in search of the man who lived there, the Chilean artist Eudaldo Morales (1914-1987). “Who is that? »ask the librarians of the main Latin American museums: no one remembers him there.

However, he attracted a lot of press attention during a series of exhibitions throughout the continent, between 1938 and 1948. He was photographed with Pablo Neruda, and the Chilean critic Víctor Carvacho dedicated several articles to him, believing that his painting announced “what we feel will one day be the great national style”. What we see of his paintings, at the same time figurative, shows a somewhat naive surrealism, but also very inspired by themes and popular culture.

a silence

In Chile, married to a teacher and with three children, he met the daughter of diplomats, Consuelo Araoz, who convinced him to continue his career in Paris. He abandons his wife and children – who will never forgive him – and goes to France, where he arrives with Consuelo, in 1949. The couple settles on rue de Vaugirard and integrates into Parisian life. He created the singer Suzy Solidor’s costumes, came into contact with his Parisian counterparts, including Picasso – essential for any Spanish-speaking artist – but above all with these abstract painters of the fifties, such as Bazaine, Manessier and Le Moal.

They exert a strong influence on his art. Too strong, unfortunately: his paintings are sometimes of great beauty, but lack originality. His Latin American roots, which were the charm of his previous painting, dissolved in the cauldron of the Parisian school.

The couple also joined the community of artists at the initiative of the painter André Lhote in Alba-la-Romaine, in the Ardèche. There he also enjoyed a certain notoriety, to the point of being interviewed on television, but he sold his painting with great difficulty, despite several exhibitions. It must be said that, according to testimonies, the man remained silent, who did nothing to please or advance himself.

Misery

The lovers separate, Consuelo remains in the South, she settles on the banks of the Loire, then in the Parisian suburbs, where she will end her life in poverty, apparently becoming aware, in a letter to Víctor Carvacho that sounds like a cry for help, that he may have taken the wrong path: we will not reveal why, we must not detract from the police investigation aspect that is the charm of this documentary.

The film is also a beautiful tribute to all these artists – and there are many – who have sacrificed their lives (but also in their case those of others) for their passion. A monument to unknown artists.