Emilio Fader

While Jake was working hard on an extra phonetics class in the afternoon, I went with two other students to the Emilio Fader museum in a suburb of Mendoza. Fader was a famous Argentine impressionist painter and he museum is a patron's house where he had painted murals on the walls. The patron donated the house to the state as a museum, and most of the murals were covered over in plaster so that Fader's paintings could be hung (go figure). My favorite room was the indoor pool where the murals were preserved. From inside the pool the paintings on the surrounding walls give the impression of being in the middle of a lake surrounded by storks, romanesque women and water. Some of the paintings were quite good and they showed how the artist's style changed over his lifetime.

An odd collection of sculptures resided on the porches on the side and back of the museum. Most had won prizes at Vendimia competitions (Vendimia is the giant festival of wine in March). The gardens were run down, but hinted at formal grandeur and featured roman style sculptures.

There are new students this week, including a man from Georgia who has sold his home and car and retired to travel and hike the Appalachian trail.