Memory of the World - Latin America and the Caribbean
Juan Manuel Besnes e Irigoyen Collection
The works and documents of the painter watercolourist draughtsman and calligrapher Juan Manuel Besnes e Irigoyen born in 1789 in San Sebastián Guipúzcoa and died in 1865 in Montevideo constitute a valuable graphic chronicle of life in the Banda Oriental during the first years of independence of the Eastern Republic of UruguayThanks to his artistic and graphic skills Besnes e Irigoyen depicted contemporary Montevideo including many scenes of the socalled Guerra Grande and the long siege of the city He did the same with other regions and places in the country Besnes e Irigoyen appointed State Lithographer continued his work as a draughtsman calligrapher watercolourist and engraver until his death He made considerable contributions especially in the field of historical documentationThe watercolours are bound in three albums in the Special Materials Room of the National Library alongside extremely valuable graphic pieces and documents which makes this one of the institution´s richest areas For a long time Besnes Irigoyen´s watercolours were reproduced on slides and distributed among educational establishments or used for consultation in the library itself to avoid manipulating the originals The publication of a compact disc containing the duly catalogued watercolours has made the collection available to users who did not previously have access to this material The Basque Government sponsored the presentation of the collection and some images were incorporated into the World Digital Library for wider sharing
Uruguay -