Alejandro Xul Solar (1887–1963) was one of the most inventive artists in Argentine history — a painter, inventor, astrologer, polyglot, and utopian thinker who produced a body of work unlike almost anything else from the 20th century. His small-scale watercolours depict imaginary architectures, invented scripts, and fantastical cities that combine Art Deco, Cubist, and theosophical elements in an entirely personal visual language.
The museum occupies his former home and studio in Recoleta, redesigned for the collection by the architect Pablo Beitía. The permanent collection includes watercolours, pen-and-ink drawings, and the objects Solar made during his lifetime — including painted pianos and the board games he invented. A friend and favourite of Jorge Luis Borges, Solar appears fictionalised in several Borges stories. A small, extraordinary museum.