In this essay, “Los pintores en el grupo de los Diez,” the art historian and sculptor Gaspar Galaz (b. 1941) discusses Los Diez, a group of intellectuals, writers, sculptors, painters, architects, and musicians that was active in Chile in the early twentieth century. In addition to the painters mentioned by Galaz, the list of members included the literary critic and journalist Armando Donoso (1887–1946); the writers Alberto Ried (1885–1965), Augusto D’Halmar (1882–1950), and Eduardo Barrios (1884–1953); the musicians Alfonso Leng (1884–1974), Acario Cotapos (1889–1969), and Alberto García (1886–1959), and the architect and painter Julio Bertrand (1888–1918). The number of members varied over the course of time, and sometimes included more than ten, but the group always went by the name of Los Diez (The Ten). [See the ICAA Digital Archive for: “Notas de viaje” (doc. no. 749932) by Julio Bertrand.]
The driving principle behind Los Diez was the group’s belief that the evolution of art could be enriched by contributions from the different disciplines that each member represented and by a shared approach to addressing the socio-historic conditions of the times. The members were connected by bonds of friendship and the chance to create a space where they could meet and talk, bound by no particular agenda. The group was started in either 1915 or 1916, according to certain landmark events, such as the publication of the first issue of Ediciones de LOS DIEZ (1915), which included examples of members’ works; or their first exhibition at El Mercurio’s Salon. They had in fact been meeting since an earlier date as the Colonia Tolstoyana, named for their interest in the Russian writer Leon Tolstoy (1828–1910). This group, like its successor, brought together artists from different disciplines to engage in discussions about art.
“La casa de Los Diez” was another watershed event for the group. In 1923 the architect Fernando Tupper (a friend of several members of the group) invited them to help with the remodeling of his residence, a large colonial house in downtown Santiago, the capital city. Prado, Ortíz de Zárate, and Ried accepted the invitation and produced nine sculpted capitals and a large door carved out of wood. The house was sold in 1929 but retained its name and its artistic-architectural features and was declared a national monument in 1997.