Emma Reyes

Biography

Emma Reyes (born in 1919) was a realism painter and writer from Bogota, Colombia. Reyes was consider the "godmother" in the Latin American art from portraying life struggles in her paintings. Those who knew her paintings described it as very old and very few.

Reyes is known for her book she wrote The Book of Emma Reyes: Memoir.

Emma Reyes was born in 1919 in Bogota, Colombia. It wasn't until July 12, 2003 that she died at the age of 84. Most of her artworks consist of her life and the obstacles she had to overcome living in poverty. She lived with her mother, sister, and a boy who she never knew his name. When she was bout 6 or 7 years old, her mother abandoned her. Reyes was then taken to a convent along with her sister and escaped from it. After she escaped the convent she reached Argentina where she began to paint. While at the convent, Reyes was not allowed to socialize with the outside world until the age of 19 which was when she escaped. Reyes got married and had a child. Unfortunately her child was killed when a group of evil men invaded her home during a war in the economy. From there, Reyes flee to France, Paris to escape her sorrowful life of poverty. 

Career

Despite the cruelty Reyes experienced in her childhood, she still tries to send positive messages through her works by making her works colorful and mainly associated with animals and plants. She didn't get an education and therefore, was "illiterate." As the result of her having no education, she instead write letters and put them together as a book. She was mainly known for her writing rather than her paintings. Reyes writes her letters from the perspective of the time she was living in rather than from her perspective now.

Works

A lot of her paintings didn't have a name and instead were called by what was visible. The image itself said it all. Most of her early works was a representation of the life she had left behind.

Unknown (Goat)

Reyes utilized vibrant colors and painted mainly plants and animals. Her goal was to use vibrant colors in order to represent her lively personality. Her paintings such as this one, was done by color pencils and a board.

Figurine

This painting portrays a human figure build from garbage that implies children's imagination, but then destroyed by the evil in this world.

Burning Villages

In this painting Reyes intended to show loneliness in a town that's corrupted surrounded by economy issues, cruelty, and abandonment. It represents the struggle Reyes and her sister faced.

Collections

Most of Emma Reyes works are held in the Essex Collection of Art from Latin America which is an organization where people can make donations. Her work is also preserved at the Perigord Museum of Art and Archaeology.

Honors

Reyes began her painting career in 1943 when she received a scholarship to study in Paris. That's when doors opened for her and as an individual who came from nothing she took advantage of the opportunity. Not only did she take the opportunity to do what she enjoys, but also as mentioned before to live a better life than the one she had during her childhood.

Publications

Before publishing her book The Book of Emma Reyes: Memoir, Reyes didn't want any changes in her grammar. Since she didn't get an education, the errors in her writing represent the struggle she went through writing the book and in addition relating to the struggles she survived in her childhood such as poverty. The book consist of 23 letters as the only format she was capable of writing. The dates of the letters start from 1969- 1997. It was known that Reyes had a difficult time organizing her thoughts when it came to writing. Luckily, her solution was writing letters. The first letter of the book opens up with the most obvious, her childhood from there leading to her life.

Bibliography

• Fajardo-Hill, Cecilia, et al. Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985. Hammer Museum, University of California, 2017.
• Reyes, Emma, and Daniel Alarcon (2017). The Book oƒ Emma Reyes. Penguin Books.
• The Radical Women Manifesto: Socialist Feminist Theory, Program and Organizational Structure. Red Letter Press, 2001.