Rebeca Matte Bello
Rebeca Matte | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 29, 1875 |
| Died | May 15, 1929 (aged 53) |
| Nationality | Chilean |
| Known for | Sculpture |
Rebeca Matte (1875-1929) was a Chilean sculptor. Her sculptures are in the collection of the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts, including her sculpture Icarus and Daedalus, which resides outside the museum.[2]
Early life and education
Rebeca Matte, born in 1875 in Santiago, Chile[3] , was the only daughter of Rebecca Reyes and Augusto Matte, an ambassador for Chile. While living in Santiago, she was educated by her grandmother. Matte was exposed to many intellectuals of Chile at the time, including José Victorino Lastarria, Gabriel Jordan Amunátegui, and Alberto Blest Gana. Her father would move to Paris and Matte would be educated in Europe.[citation needed]
In Europe, she first studied in Rome, under Giulio Monteverde. In Paris, she studied at the Julien Academy under Ernst Dubois and Denys Puech.[citation needed] As a young artist, she found influence in the work of Auguste Rodin.[1] She would marry diplomat Pedro Felipe Larrain Iñíguez[3], and she would give birth to their daughter, Iñíguez Matte. The birth of Iñíguez kept Matte busy and unable to sculpt for a number of years.[citation needed]
Career
In 1908, the Chilean government commissioned a sculpture for the International Court of Justice at The Hague. The piece, installed in 1914, was called The War. The Chilean government continued to commission works from Matte and in 1914 she created Heroes of Concepción[3], located in Santiago.[citation needed] Matte became a teacher at the Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze in 1918.[3]
Later life and death
Matte's daughter, Lily, would be diagnosed with tuberculosis and would die in a sanatorium in the Swiss Alps in 1926[3]. Matte would become depressed over Lily's death, and would cease creating art, focusing on charity work on behalf of her daughter.[3] Matte died, in Paris, on May 14, 1929.[3]
In 1929, after her death, her husband donated Icarus and Daedalus to the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts. The piece, a copy of the original which was commissioned by the government of Chile as a gift to the country of Brazil and is on public display in Rio de Janerio, was placed outside of the museum in 1930. An award, named after Matte, was created in 1922 by the Chilean Ministry of Education for notable Chilean sculptors.[citation needed]
Notable works
- Icarus and Daedalus, 1922, Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts[2]
- The Echo, Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts
References
- ^ a b Tim Burford (1 June 2005). Chile: The Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-84162-076-3. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ a b "Arts and Literature in Chile". Chile Culture. Retrieved 2012 March 17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g "Matte Bello, Rebecca (1875 - 1929)". Personales de nuestra historia. Nuestro Chile. Retrieved 2012 March 17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) (In Spanish)