The work of the French-born Argentine artist Fernando Fader is one of the most prominent and appreciated in Argentina. Fader was born in Bordeaux, France, but his family settled in Mendoza, Argentina just a few years later. His parents, a German engineer and a French viscountess, sent Fader to Europe to complete his primary and secondary school education in France and Germany. After some brief artistic training in Mendoza, during which he focused on depicting urban landscapes, he moved to Germany to study art at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts with Heinrich von Zügel, a specialist in pictures of animals in an impressionistic style. Von Zügel stimulated Fader to work in plein air (outdoors) painting. His spontaneous techniques, vibrant colors and brushstrokes contributed to the introduction of modernism in the local artistic field. After the death of his father, Fader took over the family business. In 1913, a flood destroyed the power station of his company in Mendoza, which eventually went bankrupt. Because of this, he decided to move to Buenos Aires and dedicate his life entirely to painting. He died in Loza Corral, Córdoba province, on February 25, 1935.