Guillermo Muñoz Vera  (Chilean, b.1956) is one of the best-known Realist painters in the Contemporary Art scene. He began studying art in 1973, at the University of Chile in Santiago, where he later became an adjunct professor. In 1976, he was granted his first solo show in Santiago. Muñoz Vera’s work harks back to 17th century still lifes in which mundane items are given sublimity. His subjects also range from 16th century maritime scenes to modern urban portraits. All of his paintings use symbolism to convey exploration, imagination, and intrigue. He references Spanish history in his work and marries those ideas with his own identity as a Chilean. In La Araucania, he pairs items commonly used by Spanish conquistadors with musical instruments from an indigenous region of Chile called Araucania that escaped occupation until 1862. Vera permanently relocated to Madrid, Spain, in 1979, where he and fellow artist Carmen Spinola established the foundation ARAUCO (Arte y Autores Contemporáneos). Its purpose is to offer multi-disciplinary art education and programs to students around the globe. Muñoz Vera also continues to work in Chile; in 2002, he was commissioned to create a large-scale painting for La Moneda metro station in Santiago del Chile. From 2003 to 2007, he created the series Paisajes de Chile, which focused on Chile’s vast landscapes. 

Critics consider Vera to be a part of the second generation of Spanish realists and many laud him as one of the most brilliant of the group. The surprisingly polished result of his works have placed Vera in the Realism art world, notably due to his hyperrealist tendency to maintain a connection with the photographic vision of framing and the faithful translation of the scene. Vera is considered the archetype of Spanish New Realism today. He typically uses small round brushes to create his exceptional and hyperrealist works of art.