Untitled (Man with Child)

Enrique Sobisch experimented with different styles during his abbreviated artistic career. His prolific body of work expresses his desire to explore a variety of mediums in order to create art meaningful to him and to the world around him. Born in Argentina, Sobisch traveled around the world, absorbing new and diverse influences. In Mexico in the late 1950s, he studied the Mural tradition; following his return to Argentina in 1960, he immersed himself in Expressionism. He settled in Madrid in 1979 and developed a mature style based around Realism.

The works in the Inter-American Development Bank’s collection display Sobisch’s interest in portraiture. They depict the universal themes and values that are often present in his mature work. Untitled (Man with Child) is of particular interest, as depictions of parents and children in art usually portray a maternal relationship; that which Sobisch presents here is an example of paternal love. The work combines soft splashes of pink watercolor with hard lines of black ink, a juxtaposition befitting the subjects depicted.

Text credit: Produced in collaboration with the University of Maryland Department of Art History & Archaeology and by A. Sahoo