Friday night was the most important picture made by Mario Canale. It headed the posthumous exhibition organized in 1953 and was reproduced in many of the articles that dealt with his work. His career as a painter was brief, developing mostly in the second decade of the 20th century. Then, other ventures such as the dissemination of printmaking, public management, teaching and journalism, constituted their primary occupations displacing the practice of painting. Made in 1914, the work was the first shipment of painting from Canale to the National Hall and there it was acquired by the National Commission for the Museum. It is a large format painting that seeks to capture the bohemian spirit and the camaraderie that reigned among the colleagues who met every week at Canale's house. Sitting in the middle of the sofa, he looks at the reproductions in a book held by one of his companions. Reclining on the right side, Walter de Navazio appears reflective while his contorted hand clutches the sofa. His image is consistent with the stereotype of the introspective and melancholic artist, a story that would be reinforced by his untimely death in 1921. Standing behind the chair, the bearded Rogelio Yrurtia smokes a cigar while monitoring the conversation of the youngest. From a previous generation, the sculptor was a leading figure for the group and fundamentally for Canale with whom he met to advise and discuss about art. Finally, on the left, the engraver and painter Hugo Garbarini is also attentive to the gathering at the center of the scene. All wear elegant clothes in this sumptuous interior, whose walls are full of paintings and engravings. Among them is the characteristic profile of Eduardo Sívori, intellectual mentor of the group to whom Canale dedicated a series of engravings in 1912. Surely it was one of these works with which Canale decided to honor the master who introduced him to the techniques of the painting and the engraving. María Isabel Baldasarre [http://www.bellasartes.gob.ar/coleccion/obra/5683]