Title: “Mother and Child”

Medium: Oil on Board

Dimensions: 23″ x 18″

Francisco Amighetti is one of the six Costa Rican artists that Suzanne Snider and I included as a major modern master in our book Central American Modernism. We did so because of his established reputation as the innovator of xylography. His woodcuts eventually brought him international attention and praise, with exhibits in Paris, Tokyo, and other major cities. Thanks to his legacy, Costa Rica still leads the Central American nations in printmaking.

We bought this painting in 2015. Its value has already doubled, but I wouldn’t sell it for twice that. Our bet is that prices for his work will mount considerably as the art world becomes more aware of the quality of Central American Modernist art.

Francisco Amighetti was born June 1, 1907, in San José, Costa Rica. In 1926, he entered Costa Rica’s Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes (ENBA). He was at the ENBA for only one year. An avid reader, he learned much more from magazines and books and from his artist friends. His interest in Japanese art, in particular, was sparked by a book he came upon at the Biblioteca Nacional. (Japanese art would influence his work for the rest of his life.)

Amighetti began exploring printmaking techniques and produced a portfolio of xylography by Costa Rican artists, the first of its kind, in 1934. He became a professor at the Universidad de Costa Rica in 1944. For the next 20 years, he taught art history, printmaking, and painting.

He continued to work until his death in 1998.

“Francisco Amighetti was a great artist. He portrayed a true picture of his country’s culture and times through an innovative medium… then influenced future generations to explore and express their art through printmaking.” – Suzanne Brooks Snider