(b. Rosario, Argentina, 1905; d. Buenos Aires, 1981).
Known for his devotion to social commentary, Berni was a successful painter widely recognized for his social realist paintings. Berni was born in Rosario, Argentina, in 1905. He studied drawing and painting at the Catalonian Center in Rosario. He was awarded a prize to study abroad in 1925 and attended Andre Lhote's school and the Grand Chaumier under Othon Freisz. While in Paris he became friends with Spilimbergo and Louis Aragon. These men introduced Berni to Freud and the philosophies of the Surrealists. His work was much influenced by these new ideas. In 1930 he returned to Rosario, continuing to work within Surrealist ideas. However, by 1931, he had joined the Communist party and his work began to move in the direction of Social Realism. From 1936 to 1946 he held a teaching position at the National School of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires. He was awarded first prize for Painting at the International Exposition in Paris in
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