Published in 2000 and translated into English in 2006, An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter is at most a novella, coming in at under 100 not-full-paperback size pages. The fact that César Aira has been successful publishing works at this length is quite remarkable. Aira had been unknown to me, clearly a lack on my part given his reputation as one of the more important voices in contemporary Spanish language literature.
Living somewhere at the edges of historical fiction, the story traces a trip made by the German landscape painter Johann Moritz Rugendas. There is some back story here–Rugendas is a minor, yet noteworthy, figure in art history, largely because of his contributions to the landscape painting methodology championed by Alexander von Humboldt and because of his prolific output which documented the peoples and practices of South America–especially Brazil and Argentina–at a time where little pictorial record existed for European consumption.
But the novella is really about art and the relationship of the artist to their art. Rugendas is repeatedly struck by lightning during a storm, an experience that leaves him both disfigured and in an uncertain mental state. There are no clear conclusions here: Aira seems to enjoy exploring the state of his characters without a need for a clear declaration of intent.
It’s a very quick read, and one that may stay with you longer than anticipated: Aira’s skill is obvious, and the questions raised about the source of art, the role of prescriptive systems of production in its creation (Humboldt had rules for the creation of landscapes, and for what made them worthy of being recorded on canvas), and the source of inspiration all play with each other in subtle and thought-provoking ways.
#WhatIWishICouldDo
I tend to this length quite naturally (when not working on the massive, unending novel). So having a model for actually publishing them is somewhat inspiring!
Sounds interesting. Will have to borrow it when I’m there.