Genealogy Martinez's ancestry profoundly influenced his art choices and books. Born into an aristocratic family in
Bogotá, his father was the Conservative party leader Luis Martinez and his mother Mercedes Delgado Mallarino. It was a difficult childhood due to his father's expulsion from Colombia as a result of an indictment for his involvement in an earlier
Coup d'état.
Early years Martinez began studying art at age 11 under the instruction of Colombian Master
Roberto Pizano and following
Andrés de Santa Maria at the Bogotá Fine Arts Academy. In 1925, he moved to
Cartagena, where, at the age of 18, he directed and illustrated some sections for the newspaper "La Patria" under the pseudonym of "Sanmardel".
Chicago and Taliesin Soon after, in 1926, Martínez traveled to
Chicago, where he studied and worked for over five years at the Fine Arts Institute of Chicago under the tutelage of Ruth VanSickle Ford. In Chicago, Martínez befriended and worked alongside
Edward Hopper,
Isamu Noguchi,
Willem de Kooning and
Edgar Kaufmann Jr., among others. Wright was quoted: "Young Santiago's brush lines are elegant and his attitude gracious." In 1929, Martínez was awarded first prize for the "Best advertisement illustration" by the US Federation of Commercial Artists. Shortly after, he won the Logan Medal for the Arts for his mural: "Colombian evolution" at the 1933 Chicago International World Fair and exposition. At the fair, Martínez also assisted with the Murals at the General Motors Exhibit, as Diego Rivera's commission was cancelled due to the
Lenin controversy in New York. Back in Colombia Martínez returned to Colombia in 1934 with an innovative line pioneering in the pictorial Art Deco style. In 1936, Martínez founded the Art school and decoration at the Universidad Javeriana Femenina. From 1937 to 1940, he directed and illustrated the magazine "Revista Vida", which became the main outlet for cultural media at the time. It featured interviews of world-renowned artists like
Joan Miró and writers like his longtime friend
Gabriela Mistral. He also made various illustrations for America, Anarkos, Cromos and PAN Magazines.
Madonna dilemma Martinez, who was an avid historian and protector of the Colombian artistic heritage, discovered a painting by
Raphael de Urbino. This discovery started a debate among Colombian scholars that is now referred to as "The dilemma of (
La Madonna de Bogotá) (). Martinez Delgado managed to prove the provenance of the piece along with its authenticity with the use of X-rays and detailed forensic work. In 1939, he took the painting to New York City during the 1939 World's Fair, where experts from the
Metropolitan Museum, the
Chicago Art Institute and the
Louvre examined the painting. Among the experts were: Daniel Catton, Rich A. Sweet, Ruber H. Clark,
Leo A. Marzolo,
Adolfo Venturi and
Wilhelm Valentiner. They all concurred with Master Martinez and confirmed its authenticity. The painting was included in the artist's catalog as the "Madonna of Bogotá."
Golden years In 1940, Martínez participated in the first
Salón de Artistas Colombianos, where he won the Gold Medal for the oil on canvas "El que volvió"; the subsequent year, he won first prize for the oil on canvas "Interludio". (Today at the
Colombian National Museum). In 1943, Martínez made his first major mural in Colombia at the school Presentación of Chapinero. In 1945, work started on the Cúcuta Cathedral stations, as well as the murals and carvings at the city's government building. That year, Martínez also illustrated the biography of Sucre, written by Carlos Arturo Caparroso (Editorial Horizontes, Bogotá), and was designated as a Member of the Historic Academy of Bogotá. In 1947, Martinez was commissioned by the Honorable
Alberto Lleras Camargo, then-director of the OEA, and the Honorable
Laureano Gómez, the Inter-American Conference organizer, to create the mural for the elliptic chamber of the
National Congress Building. He finished the
fresco in time for the Inter American conference. General
George Marshall of the US called the piece a wonder of contemporary art, and was relieved that the capital was spared from the fires during the
Bogotazo. Martinez was given the Cruz de Boyacá award by President
Mariano Ospina Pérez. Martinez also became the premier historian on
Simón Bolívar and his army during the 1940s and 1950s. His limited edition Iconography on Bolivar is considered the most accurate work on the image and resalable of Simón Bolívar.
Early death In 1948, Martínez founded a commercial art studio. In the following years, he made various well-recognized brand logos, illustrations, history books, and over 30 majestic murals in addition to many of his best-known paintings. During this period, he wrote and directed the dramatization of radio scripts, such as "El Virrey Solis", that broke all the ratings records for that year. Martínez also made plays, including "Estampas místicas de la tierra del Señor", "Juan Manuel el Gavilán" (unedited) and "El derecho de nacer". In 1953, he was commissioned by
Nelson Rockefeller to paint an oil on canvas of 8 x 4 meters (the largest Oil on Canvas in South America) for the Bank of New York in Bogotá, but he died before finishing it. It was placed on the bank, where it remains today as the largest oil on canvas in Colombia. Rockefeller, in a speech during the presentation of the painting to the public, called Martinez Delgado "the greatest Latin American artist of the decade". (Today, the building is the Interior Ministry Building, and City Bank donated the painting to the Colombian Government.) Martinez died on January 12, 1954, in the hacienda "El Molino", of a stroke. On August 3 of the same year, the National Museum, with the collaboration of the Education Ministry, organized an exhibition in his honor. ==Listing of selected works==