One of the most amazing aspects of Costa Rican
art is the realism that the artist tries to achieve.
Rather than creating an ideal world, the artist
creates what he sees as accurately and as
beautifully as possible. This particular sculpture
shows a man seated, afflicted with the disease
Polio. This debilitating sickness is realistically
portrayed by a serious deformity in the right
arm. He also has a severe hump on his back.
This in turn, tilts the head slightly, causing the
person to lose the symmetry that we are so used
to finding in works of art. The decoration on the
person is very simple motifs on the shoulders.
The hands and feet are also painted, as is the
area around the mouth. The head is covered by a
simple monochrome cap, which hides all visible
traces of hair. Though the artist is not trying to
evoke sympathy in the observer, we cannot help
but be moved by the sympathetic realism that
the artist has provided us with.
- (PF.4016)
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