A Man with moustache and glasses: Portraits of Rodó

Abstract

The image of José Enrique Rodó has its origin in the first portraits that his contemporaries made and which, with slight changes, has stayed up until today. The seriousness and aparent serenity of his figure, which is reflected in the photographic portraits, have their parallel in the classic and armonious style of his prose, in a way in which in no time a statuesque Rodó emerged, who only seemed to be overshadowed at the end of his life, according to his protrayers. This article covers the testimonies of his coetaneous and his main biographers to recreate a portrait of the Uruguayan writer, who is still partially hidden behind his moustache and glasses.