Enrique Grau en su pequeño viaje (y otros espejismos)

Abstract

In 1977, the Colombian painter Enrique Grau published a book titled <italic>El Pequeño Viaje del Barón Von Humboldt</italic>, which can be considered the first example of an "artist's book" in the country's publishing history; however, as very few copies of the text survive to this day, its contents have not been properly studied. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the book as an object (and the process that sprung it to life) and, in addition, to assess its value as an aesthetical register of the Colombian geography. The first chapter of this study presents a brief biography of Enrique Grau, focused on the specific episodes of the artist's life that could have influenced or inspired the publication of the book. The second chapter describes the contents of the book and the history of its publication, considering its literary and artistic merits and comparing the two editions of the text (1977 and 1984) in terms of authority. The third and final chapter offers a critical reading of the text taking into account the perspectives of Bélgica Rodríguez in <italic>Enrique Grau: Homenaje</italic> (2004) and Ana María Lozano's <italic>Enrique Grau: la Ilusión de lo Real</italic> (2002). This section acknowledges a social approach to exploration in Grau's book that, unlike that of the botanical expeditions of Mutis or Von Humboldt, lies closer to affect and imagination than to objectivity or scientific resolve.