This chapter reevaluates the pedagogical ideology that guided Pedro Figari (Montevideo, 1861–1938) in Uruguay at the beginning of the 20th century, and to examine certain works and proposals of his promoting changes in art and industrial education. The impact of global industrialization in Uruguay was felt in the area of art education and gave rise to intense debates that agitated the cultural environment of Montevideo in the early 20th century. One of the most prominent protagonists in these debates was Figari, whose far-reaching vanguard ideas pitted him against the defenders of a hegemonic, conservative tradition that eventually truncated his pedagogical project.

A new examination of the varied archival and published sources on Figari, and particularly his bill of 1900 that he presented to the Montevideo parliament for the creation of the first National School of Fine Arts, allows us to locate and interpret his educational and pictorial aesthetics. His early conception of a school incorporating industrial design manifests many points of overlap with Progressive (Modern) Education movements, including: respect for, and encouragement of individuality; autonomy; and solidarity among students. But his proposal called for an integration of arts and industrial education, and one formulated not just for public education in Uruguay, but for all of Latin America.