Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this project, contextual readings of four works by Arnold van Wyk are developed. They are the Symphony No. 1 in A Minor, the First String Quartet, the Duo Concertante and the Missa in illo tempore. These readings are grounded in richly detailed descriptions of the compositional processes, drawing on material such as sketches, autographs, diaries, correspondence and reception documents, as well as in structural analyses of Van Wyk’s music and of certain peer compositions. Each reading is set in a separate theoretical frame, resulting in a multi-perspectival consideration of Arnold van Wyk’s music that partakes in a range of current disciplinary discourses. The First Symphony is discussed in the discursive context of English Sibelianism, and Arnold van Wyk’s dialogue with Sibelius’s symphonic works is investigated through comparisons of Van Wyk’s and Sibelius’s applications of two-dimensional sonata form and tragic reversed sonata form. The reading so developed sheds new musical light on the difficulties of Van Wyk’s position as a colonial composer residing in the centre of a crumbling Empire. The compositional process of Van Wyk’s First String Quartet is described in juxtaposition with the compositional process of Bartók’s Sixth String Quartet, and the similarities and differences of the two narratives and the two compositions highlight a second aspect of Van Wyk’s colonial identity, namely the ambiguity of his return to South Africa from England, neither of which place could signify “home”. The reading of the Duo Concertante focuses on the Elegia from that work, interpreting the piece as part of a network of intertextual connections, including Van Wyk’s model for this piece, Martin Peerson’s (1580-1650) The Fall of the Leafe, Gerald Finzi’s Elegy for Orchestra Op. 20, entitled The Fall of the Leaf, as well as Van Wyk’s own theme for the Rondo of the Duo, to which he made various musical references in the Elegia which are associated with the concept of “prophecy”. This intertextual reading considers Van Wyk’s continuing problematic identification with the English musical culture and tradition, compounded by his uncomfortable place in the stifling cultural establishment of apartheid South Africa. Van Wyk’s Missa in illo tempore is interpreted in a post-apartheid context. The work purports to react to the conditions in London in 1945 at the end of the Second World War (when Van Wyk first started to work on it) as well as the conditions in apartheid South Africa in 1977-1979 (when he completed the work as a commission for the Stellenbosch Tercentenary Festival). The reading considers the ethics of art that intends to respond to situations of suffering, drawing on post-Holocaust art scholarship as a theoretical frame. In developing interpretations of compositions that have never been studied in such detail or with such theoretical rigour before, the thesis makes a significant contribution to Arnold van Wyk studies, and in its application of a range of methodological tools in order to construct poetic hermeneutic readings that are grounded in musical and contextual materials, it also represents a meaningful methodological innovation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie projek word kontekstuele lesings van vier werke deur Arnold van Wyk ontwikkel. Hulle is die Simfonie Nr. 1 in A Mineur, die Eerste Strykkwartet, die Duo Concertante en die Missa in illo tempore. Hierdie lesings is gegrond in ryk-gedetailleerde beskrywings van die komposisieproses, waarby materiaal soos sketse, outograwe, dagboeke, korrespondensie en resepsiedokumente gebruik word, asook in strukturele analises van Van Wyk se musiek en van sekere eweknie-komposisies. Elke lesing word in ʼn afsonderlike teoretiese raamwerk gestel, sodat ʼn veelperspektiewelike oorweging van Arnold van Wyk se musiek resulteer wat deelneem aan ʼn verskeidenheid hedendaagse dissiplinêre diskoerse. Die Eerste Simfonie word bespreek in die diskursiewe konteks van Sibelianisme in Engeland, en Arnold van Wyk se dialoog met Sibelius se simfoniese werke word ondersoek deur vergelykings van Van Wyk en Sibelius se toepassings van twee-dimensionele sonatevorm en tragies-omgekeerde sonatevorm. Die lesing wat sodoende ontwikkel word, werp nuwe musikale lig op die moeilikhede van Van Wyk se posisie as koloniale komponis woonagtig in die sentrum van ʼn verkrummelende Ryk. Die komposisieproses van Van Wyk se Eerste Strykkwartet word beskryf in jukstaposisie met die komposisieproses van Bartók se Sesde Strykkwartet, en die ooreenkomste en verskille van die twee narratiewe en die twee komposisies belig ʼn tweede aspek van Van Wyk se koloniale identiteit, naamlik die dubbelsinnigheid van sy terugkeer na Suid-Afrika uit Engeland, twee plekke waarvan geeneen die betekenis van sy “tuiste” kon dra nie. Die lesing van die Duo Concertante fokus op die Elegia uit daardie werk, en dit interpreteer die stuk as deel van ʼn netwerk van intertekstuele verbindings, insluitende Van Wyk se model vir hierdie stuk, Martin Peerson (1580-1650) se The Fall of the Leafe, Gerald Finzi se Elegie vir Orkes Op. 20, getiteld The Fall of the Leaf, asook Van Wyk se eie tema vir die Rondo van die Duo, waarna hy verskeie musikale verwysings in die Elegia gemaak het wat geassosieer word met die konsep van “profesie”. Hierdie intertekstuele lesing beskou Van Wyk se aangaande problematiese identifisering met Engelse musiekkultuur en –tradisie, vererger deur sy ongemaklike plek in die verstikkende kulturele establishment van apartheid Suid-Afrika. Van Wyk se Missa in illo tempore word in ʼn post-apartheid konteks geïnterpreteer. Die werk stel sigself voor as reaksie op die toestande in Londen in 1945 teen die einde van die Tweede Wêreldoorlog (toe Van Wyk die eerste keer daaraan begin werk het) asook die toestande in apartheid Suid-Afrika in 1977-1979 (toe hy die werk voltooi het as ʼn opdrag vir die Stellenbosch Drie-Eeue Fees). Die lesing oorweeg die etiek van kuns wat ten doel het om te reageer op situasies van lyding en gebruik post-Holocaust kunsstudies as teoretiese raam. In sy ontwikkeling van interpretasies van komposisies wat nog nooit in soveel besonderhede of só teoreties nougeset bestudeer is nie, maak die tesis ʼn beduidende bydrae tot Arnold van Wyk studies, en in sy toepassing van ʼn verskeidenheid metodologiese hulpmiddels om poëtiese hermeneutiese lesings te konstrueer wat gegrond is in musikale en kontekstuele materiale, verteenwoordig dit ook ʼn betekenisvolle metodologiese vernuwing.

On the basis of the art and architectural displays at the 1878 Exposition Universelle Internationale à Paris, this thesis investigates the conflicting claims of nationalism; the late nineteenth-century tensions between tradition and modernity; and the disparities between the intentions of the organizers and the perceptions of the visitors. Creating connections between methodological and theoretical issues of interest to art history and museum studies, the argument explores further and refines our understanding of what has been constitutive of Exhibitions. This thesis takes the 1878 Exposition Universelle Internationale à Paris as its focus, in order to further appreciate the extent to which Exhibitions were able to influence their visitors’ minds and bodies. It scrutinizes a wide range of material generated as part of the national participation of the United Kingdom to this event in specific case studies for both breadth and depth of understanding. The examination of material published in 1878 newspapers provides evidence of a critical gaze within the Exhibition boundaries. International and universal Exhibitions have been significant events in producing and conveying various messages about diverse topics to unprecedentedly large audiences. Their rich content entailed the production and consumption of diverse experiences and meanings beyond attempt of controlling bodies and behaviours. The study of the British participation in the 1878 International Street or Rue des nations uncovers the tensions between symbols, taste and technology in architecture. Original research in the archives of the Royal Academy of Arts, London, gives a particular insight in the role of a key institution in the preparation of a national visual arts exhibition in the 1878 Paris Exposition. The examination of the reception of a particular artwork provides a useful counterpoint to these first institutionally-oriented analyses. Focusing on W. P. Frith’s The Railway Station (1862) offers a different perspective to understand the way a vast array of contemporary meanings could impact the reception of a particular work. The investigation of the critical reception of British paintings in 1878 France emphasizes the strength of cultural narratives beyond the specific vision for the Exhibition.

Baigiamajame magistro darbe nagrinėjama Klaipėdos miesto istorinio centro prieigų erdvinės struktūros ir kompozicijos tobulinimo principai. Pagrindinis darbo tikslas – teritorijos, esančios šalia transporto mazgo ir geležinkelio linijos, potencialo išryškinimas miesto kontekste bei artikuliuotos urbanistinės struktūros sukūrimas. Identifikuojami vertingi ir nevertingi miesto plano struktūros elementai, jų poveikis nagrinėjamai teritorijai. Sprendžiamos susisiekimo, erdvinio karkaso formavimo problemos. Vykdoma naujų traukos objektų paieška. Remiantis atlikta urbanistine analize, pasaulinių analogų tyrimu, pateikiamas galimas plėtros modelis. Akcentuojant transporto mazgą, geležinkelio liniją, upės pakrantę ir svarbiausias trasas, kompozicinėmis priemonėmis pateikiama teritorijos urbanistinė koncepcija ir detalizuojamo komplekso architektūrinė išraiška. Siūlomas naujas visuomeninis miesto traukos centras – stočių terminalas, – kuris diktuoja teritorijos užstatymo paskirtį, susisiekimo ir viešųjų erdvių organizavimo galimybes. Detalizuojamas urbanistinis-architektūrinis akcentas – stočių terminalas. Baigiamojo darbo rezultatas - nauja nagrinėjamos teritorijos urbanistinės struktūros, įprasminančios Klaipėdos miesto istorinio centro prieigas, koncepcija. Darbo pabaigoje pateikiamos išvados ir rekomendacijos. / The thesis examines the accesses of historical center of Klaipeda city, its spatial structure and development of the new principles of composition. The main aim of the work is to articulate the urban structure of the territory situated near the transport hub, railway lines and to highlight its potential of urban context in Klaipėda‘s city.Identifying useful and lightweight structural elements of the urban plan and its impact on the site, forming spatial structure and transportation problems, ongoing search for new attractions highlights the possibilities of concept. The possible development model derives from the urban analysis and the global analogue of the investigation. The concept, its composite means of urban areas and the architectural idea is based on the main elements such as transport hub, the railway lines, river coastline and the main roads. The proposed new civic center of gravity - the station terminal - applies opportunities to organize the use of the transportation and public spaces in the territory. The urban-architectural accent - the station terminal - is detailed. Final result is a concept of a new urban structure of the site, which represents the access to Klaipeda city's historical center in the new point of wiev. In the end the conclusions and recommendations.

This thesis deals with contemporary art movement called post internet, its forms and its presentation within the gallery spaces. The emphasis is based on a complex description of its topics, mailny the problems of its presentation, the corporate aestetics, the radical identification and the post human body. The third chapter describes the transfer of the art from the internet into the gallery spaces and its methods. The last part of this text is then devoted to the Czech post internet art scene and to the negative impact of the internet on the sociaty and the art.

The aim of this thesis is to make a clear reflection of folklorism in the Czech Art Nouveau painting at the turn of 19th and 20th century. This era is characterized by the effort of artists to follow the development in western art as well as to find their own Czech way to the modern art. The establishment of new societies of art and the impact of art critics - leading personalities of cultural life - is another feature of this period. The last quarter of 19th century is the time connected with the national revival era, when the folk culture is seen as pure and original. The culmination of so called "ethnographic movement" is the Czech-Slavonic Ethnographical Exhibition which took place in Prague in 1895. This event was the main reason for the fact that many artist suddenly started to feel sympathies for the folk topics even though in the past they were interested in different themes. In the middle of these two tendencies: desire to follow the western development and the attempt to find an inspiration in folk culture, grew the work of so called "regional painters". This thesis aims to characterize this phenomenon and to exemplify it on the basis of artwork of selected regional artists. Main part of this thesis is dedicated to the life and work of Jaroslav Špillar who was the significant figure of...

Este estudo objetivou evidenciar a atuação de Mario Schenberg na organização das Bienais Internacionais de São Paulo enquanto crítico de arte, nas décadas de 1960 e 1970. Foi analisado o envolvimento do crítico na Sala Especial do pintor Alfredo Volpi na VI Bienal (1961), bem como sua participação no júri de seleção da representação brasileira na VIII, IX e X Bienais (1965, 1967 e 1969). Foi examinada, ainda, a participação de Schenberg nas Mesas Redondas promovidas pela Associação Internacional de Críticos de Arte junto às edições de 1969 e 1971 (X e XI Bienais). A investigação tomou por fontes primárias as críticas originais do Centro Mario Schenberg de Documentação da Pesquisa em Arte ECA/USP escritas no período delimitado, bem como os demais livros, artigos e entrevistas do crítico; acrescente-se a esse material as entrevistas realizadas com artistas, curadores e cientistas que conviveram com Mario Schenberg nessas duas décadas. Além disso, foi realizado um levantamento documental no Arquivo Histórico Wanda Svevo, da Fundação Bienal. A presença do crítico no certame se deu, em primeiro lugar, por conta de sua proximidade com os artistas e seu interesse pela arte e, em segundo lugar, por sua capacidade de trazer um novo olhar para com as obras de arte, que poderia agregar a singularidade da figura de Mario Schenberg aos quadros da Bienal. Ao entender que era função do certame promover visibilidade para os novos artistas que começavam a desenvolver seu trabalho e a definir novos caminhos para a arte, o crítico assumiu o papel de facilitador da aceitação de novos artistas e tendências na representação brasileira das Bienais. / This study had the objective of highlighting Mario Schenberg\'s action in the Sao Paulo\'s International Biennial organization while art critic, in the decades of 1960 and 1970. It was analysed the critic\'s involvement in the painter Alfredo Volpi\'s Special Room in the VI Biennial (1961), as well as his participation on the selection jury of the brazilian representation on the VIII, IX and X Biennials (1965, 1967, 1969). It was examined, still, Schenberg\'s participation on the round tables promoted by the International Association of Art Critics on the 1969 and 1971 (X e XI Biennials) editions. The investigation considered by primary sources the original critics of the Mario Schenberg\'s Center of Documentation Research in Art - ECA/USP written in the defined period, as well as the other books, articles and interviews from the critic; add to this material the interviews with artists, curators and scientists who lived with Mario Schenberg in these two decades. In addition to that, a documental survey was carried out in the Wanda Svevo\'s Historical Archive from the Biennials Foundation. The critic\'s presence in the field was due, in first place, by his proximity to the artists and his interest for the art and, in second place, for his capacility of bringing a new view to works of art, which could add the singularity of Mario Schenberg\'s figure to the Biennial\'s work of art. In understanding that it was the fields function to promote visibility to the new artists who were starting to develop their work and define new ways for the art, the critic took upon him the role of facilitator on the acceptance of new artists and tendencies on the brazilian representation of the Biennials.

Ângulos de uma caminhada lenta: exercícios de contenção, reiteração e saturação na obra de Bruce Nauman parte da discussão de um conjunto de trabalhos do artista norte-americano com o intuito de compreender a estrutura, os elementos constitutivos e os procedimentos característicos de sua produção. A obra de Bruce Nauman mantém uma projeção pública há mais de quatro décadas e contempla meios e materiais variados - das primeiras moldagens às recentes instalações sonoras, o artista passa pela performance, vídeo, fotografia, desenho, gravura e intervenção em escala urbana - e mobiliza, a despeito de sua natureza multifacetada, um conjunto recorrente de questões, algumas das quais em franco diálogo com a tradição da escultura. Além de interrogar a persistência de uma espécie de inteligência escultórica na obra, esta tese propõe examinar o modo peculiar com que Nauman lança mão de alguns procedimentos disseminados nas obras de artistas da sua geração, sobretudo o uso da repetição em chave distinta dos processos de seriação em voga na década de 1960. Nos trabalhos de Nauman, os procedimentos de reiteração, redução, contenção e permutação de poucos elementos tendem a promover experiências de saturação e de extenuação, e, nesse sentido, aproximam-se de certos aspectos da obra de Samuel Beckett; duas linguagens artísticas diferentes que, todavia, mantêm pontos de convergência temática e formal / Angles of a slow walk: exercises in restraint, reiteration and saturation in the work of Bruce Nauman has as its starting point a discussion of a representative array from among the artist\'s production that seeks to obtain a greater understanding of the structure, constitutive elements and specific procedures found in his work. Nauman\'s production has sustained its popular prominence for more than four decades, and spanned an impressively wide spectrum of means and materials - from the early castings and moldings to the recent sound installations, through performance, video, photography, drawing, engraving, print and urban scale interventions - which summons, in spite of its multifarious nature, a persistent, recurring set of questions, some of which engage the sculptural tradition in an open and challenging dialogue. In addition to assessing the endurance of this type of sculptural intelligence in the artist\'s production, the thesis aims at examining the idiosyncratic way in which Nauman employs certain artistic procedures common to the works of artists of his generation, in particular his use of repetition in a fashion quite distinct from the serial processes en vogue in the 1960s; furthermore, the thesis attempts to uncover a number of formal convergences between Nauman\'s procedures in a significant assortment of pieces, and Samuel Beckett\'s body of work, with an emphasis on the exhaustive recombination of minimal elements as well as the use of repetition, suppression and restraint as fundamental mechanisms to promote a saturation of experience.

La crítica de arte escrita por el poeta, narrador y ensayista José Lezama Lima proporciona una triple perspectiva. Observa tanto en los ensayos compilados en La visualidad infinita, como en los artículos de la revista Orígenes el diálogo entre las corrientes artísticas internacionales y una pintura vanguardista cubana, reflexiona sobre elementos propios de la labor plástica y teje un continuo contrapunto entre la poesía y la pintura. Este encuentro entre los dos quehaceres artísticos, donde la imagen juega un rol fundamental, desdoblándose en el par imago visible-pictórica e imago invisible-poética, es el eje desde el cual pueden pensarse los planteamientos críticos de este autor sobre ambas manifestaciones estéticas, el pintor René Portocarrero y los procedimientos y técnicas de la composición pictórica. Si la crítica de arte hace parte de una poética lezamiana, un análisis acerca del modo de esta continuidad se constituye en el centro del presente proyecto de investigación. Nuestro propósito es analizar la percepción de la historia en estas dos artes, la prolongación entre los elementos del sistema poético y las propuestas acerca de la pintura en los dos ensayos extensos Paralelos. La pintura y la poesía en Cuba en los siglos XVIII y XIX y Homenaje a René Portocarrero. Como se trata de un estudio que parte de la literatura hacia las artes visuales, nos interesa el modo (o las operaciones) en los que desde el discurso de este escritor se asume el texto pictórico, la obra plástica. De esta manera, incursionamos en los planteos de disciplinas como la ecfrasis o en el desarrollo histórico de la frase horaciana Ut pictura poesis, una reflexión que evidencia la antigüedad del lazo entre ambas disciplinas estéticas e, igualmente, demuestra su actualidad, ya que en las dos últimas décadas asistimos a la multiplicación de estudios dedicados a este vínculo tanto en el ámbito anglosajón como en algunos sectores de la crítica literaria en lengua española / The writings about art criticism from the poet, narrator an essayist José Lezama Lima provides a triple perspective. Observes in the essays collected in La visualidad infinita as well as in the articles of the journal Orígenes the dialogue between the international artistic movements and an avant-garde Cuban painting, reflects on elements pertaining to plastic works and weaves a continuous counterpoint between poetry and painting. This encounter of the two artistic endeavors, where image plays a fundamental role, unfolding in the pair imago visible-pictorial and imago invisible-poetic, is the axis from which one can understand the Lezama´s critical proposals about the history of both aesthetic manifestations, the painter René Portocarrero and the methods and techniques of the pictorial composition. If art criticism is part of a lezamian poetic, an analysis regarding the character of this continuity constitutes the center of this research. Our objective is to analyze the historic perception in these two arts, the continuation between the elements of the poetic system and the approaches about painting in the two extensive essays Paralelos. La pintura y la poesía en Cuba en los siglos XVIII y XIX and Homenaje a René Portocarrero. As it pertains to a study that begins in literature and moves to visual arts, we have interest in the mode (or procedures) in which from this writers discourse, the pictorial text, plastic work is assumed. In this way, we make an incursion into the disciplines posed, like ekphrasis or in the historic development of the horatian sentence Ut pictura poesis, a reflection that demonstrates equally the antiquity of the tie between both disciplines as well as its topicality, since in the past two decades we have seen the proliferation of studies dedicated to this bond not only in the English speaking world, but also in some areas of the literary criticism in Spanish language

Ângulos de uma caminhada lenta: exercícios de contenção, reiteração e saturação na obra de Bruce Nauman parte da discussão de um conjunto de trabalhos do artista norte-americano com o intuito de compreender a estrutura, os elementos constitutivos e os procedimentos característicos de sua produção. A obra de Bruce Nauman mantém uma projeção pública há mais de quatro décadas e contempla meios e materiais variados - das primeiras moldagens às recentes instalações sonoras, o artista passa pela performance, vídeo, fotografia, desenho, gravura e intervenção em escala urbana - e mobiliza, a despeito de sua natureza multifacetada, um conjunto recorrente de questões, algumas das quais em franco diálogo com a tradição da escultura. Além de interrogar a persistência de uma espécie de inteligência escultórica na obra, esta tese propõe examinar o modo peculiar com que Nauman lança mão de alguns procedimentos disseminados nas obras de artistas da sua geração, sobretudo o uso da repetição em chave distinta dos processos de seriação em voga na década de 1960. Nos trabalhos de Nauman, os procedimentos de reiteração, redução, contenção e permutação de poucos elementos tendem a promover experiências de saturação e de extenuação, e, nesse sentido, aproximam-se de certos aspectos da obra de Samuel Beckett; duas linguagens artísticas diferentes que, todavia, mantêm pontos de convergência temática e formal / Angles of a slow walk: exercises in restraint, reiteration and saturation in the work of Bruce Nauman has as its starting point a discussion of a representative array from among the artist\'s production that seeks to obtain a greater understanding of the structure, constitutive elements and specific procedures found in his work. Nauman\'s production has sustained its popular prominence for more than four decades, and spanned an impressively wide spectrum of means and materials - from the early castings and moldings to the recent sound installations, through performance, video, photography, drawing, engraving, print and urban scale interventions - which summons, in spite of its multifarious nature, a persistent, recurring set of questions, some of which engage the sculptural tradition in an open and challenging dialogue. In addition to assessing the endurance of this type of sculptural intelligence in the artist\'s production, the thesis aims at examining the idiosyncratic way in which Nauman employs certain artistic procedures common to the works of artists of his generation, in particular his use of repetition in a fashion quite distinct from the serial processes en vogue in the 1960s; furthermore, the thesis attempts to uncover a number of formal convergences between Nauman\'s procedures in a significant assortment of pieces, and Samuel Beckett\'s body of work, with an emphasis on the exhaustive recombination of minimal elements as well as the use of repetition, suppression and restraint as fundamental mechanisms to promote a saturation of experience.

La crítica de arte escrita por el poeta, narrador y ensayista José Lezama Lima proporciona una triple perspectiva. Observa tanto en los ensayos compilados en La visualidad infinita, como en los artículos de la revista Orígenes el diálogo entre las corrientes artísticas internacionales y una pintura vanguardista cubana, reflexiona sobre elementos propios de la labor plástica y teje un continuo contrapunto entre la poesía y la pintura. Este encuentro entre los dos quehaceres artísticos, donde la imagen juega un rol fundamental, desdoblándose en el par imago visible-pictórica e imago invisible-poética, es el eje desde el cual pueden pensarse los planteamientos críticos de este autor sobre ambas manifestaciones estéticas, el pintor René Portocarrero y los procedimientos y técnicas de la composición pictórica. Si la crítica de arte hace parte de una poética lezamiana, un análisis acerca del modo de esta continuidad se constituye en el centro del presente proyecto de investigación. Nuestro propósito es analizar la percepción de la historia en estas dos artes, la prolongación entre los elementos del sistema poético y las propuestas acerca de la pintura en los dos ensayos extensos Paralelos. La pintura y la poesía en Cuba en los siglos XVIII y XIX y Homenaje a René Portocarrero. Como se trata de un estudio que parte de la literatura hacia las artes visuales, nos interesa el modo (o las operaciones) en los que desde el discurso de este escritor se asume el texto pictórico, la obra plástica. De esta manera, incursionamos en los planteos de disciplinas como la ecfrasis o en el desarrollo histórico de la frase horaciana Ut pictura poesis, una reflexión que evidencia la antigüedad del lazo entre ambas disciplinas estéticas e, igualmente, demuestra su actualidad, ya que en las dos últimas décadas asistimos a la multiplicación de estudios dedicados a este vínculo tanto en el ámbito anglosajón como en algunos sectores de la crítica literaria en lengua española / The writings about art criticism from the poet, narrator an essayist José Lezama Lima provides a triple perspective. Observes in the essays collected in La visualidad infinita as well as in the articles of the journal Orígenes the dialogue between the international artistic movements and an avant-garde Cuban painting, reflects on elements pertaining to plastic works and weaves a continuous counterpoint between poetry and painting. This encounter of the two artistic endeavors, where image plays a fundamental role, unfolding in the pair imago visible-pictorial and imago invisible-poetic, is the axis from which one can understand the Lezama´s critical proposals about the history of both aesthetic manifestations, the painter René Portocarrero and the methods and techniques of the pictorial composition. If art criticism is part of a lezamian poetic, an analysis regarding the character of this continuity constitutes the center of this research. Our objective is to analyze the historic perception in these two arts, the continuation between the elements of the poetic system and the approaches about painting in the two extensive essays Paralelos. La pintura y la poesía en Cuba en los siglos XVIII y XIX and Homenaje a René Portocarrero. As it pertains to a study that begins in literature and moves to visual arts, we have interest in the mode (or procedures) in which from this writers discourse, the pictorial text, plastic work is assumed. In this way, we make an incursion into the disciplines posed, like ekphrasis or in the historic development of the horatian sentence Ut pictura poesis, a reflection that demonstrates equally the antiquity of the tie between both disciplines as well as its topicality, since in the past two decades we have seen the proliferation of studies dedicated to this bond not only in the English speaking world, but also in some areas of the literary criticism in Spanish language