Xul Solar Museum

As I was reflecting on my previous blog posts, I noticed that there is a severe discrepancy between the number of posts I've done involving restaurants (23) and the number of posts I've done involving museums (1). I have some catching up to do; consider this Museum Week!

The most recent museum I have been to is...
Xul Solar Museum
Location: Laprida 1212, Barrio Norte
Phone: (54-11) 4821-5378
Hours: 12:00pm - 7:30pm Tues - Fri, 12:00pm - 7:00pm Sat, Closed Sun & Mon
Admission: $10 pesos

Xul Solar (1887 - 1963) was born Oscar Agustín Alejandro Schulz Solari changing his name to Xul Solar somewhere around 1916. This name is believed to be an ode to his artistic themes of light (Xul backwards is the latin word for light, lux) and energy (lux + solar = solar energy) and is thought to be Argentina's greatest abstract Expressionist. The museum was established in 1993 and the museum building was renovated and modernly designed to reflect Xul's work. The work displayed in the museum was selected by Xul to display to the private club of intellectuals he established in 1939. Xul was most known for his avant-guard style watercolor paintings, the colorful shapes and images depicting religious and astrological symbols. However, Xul Solar was a studied man in many disciplines; music, architecture, language, astrology and religion. In addition to his intriguing paintings Xul is known to have invented two different spoken languages, invented new musical instruments and created new games including tarot cards.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:00pm and Saturdays at 3:30pm there is a standing tour 50 minute tour that is included in the admission price. The tour is in Spanish, which is a great way to practice for those learning the language, and the tour guides also speak English, so you can catch up on anything missed in between points on the tour. This museum is one of the lesser known spots in Buenos Aires, but certainly worth the trip if you are spending an extended period of time in the city.