Roberto Páramo (1859-1939) made these small landscapes in watercolor and oil and cardboard. They are little works, most just the size of a post-card or slightly larger. Mostly they depict rural scenes in the flat plains to the east of Bogotá. Páramo taught at the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Bogotá for 38 years and never left his native Colombia.
These small, humble works of incredible beauty were the highlight of my visit to Bogotá’s museums last year. I remember asking the the clerk at the bookstore of the National Museum if there were any books on his work. He sighed and said, no. He explained that unless you’re an international art star like Fernando Botero, nobody cares and there’s no market for it. You can see more of Páramo’s images here.
