Zapanta Art Collection

Early Masters

Unique to the timeline of the exhibition is the early colonial work, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows), a graceful and iconic Madonna painted by Miguel Cabrera in 1761. Cabrera (1695-1768) is widely referred to as the master of Colonial Mexico, based on his significant influence as the official painter for the archdiocese of Mexico. Cabrera is best known for his historical and religious portraits, including the poet and nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and his copy of the icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Predating the other paintings in the exhibition by more than a century, the work is an originative moment highlighting an exquisitely radiant Madonna emerging from the darkness. Illuminated solely by a spiritual light emanating from within, the viewer’s gaze is focused on the Madonna’s expression and cupped hands, which follows the stylistic tradition of Renaissance painter Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664). 

Dr. Atl (Gerado Murillo, México 1875-1964), one of Mexico’s leading early modernists, is represented by the drawing Paisaje con luna llena (Landscape with Full Moon). The piece is charged with an ethereal drama that draws one into the rustic landscape. Murillo worked under his Aztec name Atl (Náhuatl for “water”) as a rejection of Spanish colonial traditions and as a demonstration of pride for his indigenous heritage. Murillo organized a seminal exhibition of contemporary Mexican art at the Academia de San Carlos in 1910. The artist’s iconic landscape paintings of Mexico are the basis of an indigenous modern artistic style which expressed national pride in illustrating Mexico’s natural beauty. 

Alfredo Ramos Martinez’s (1871-1946) Regresando a casa del mercado (Returning Home from the Market) depicts a cubist landscape of dark rocks and mountain ranges that frame an indigenous field worker within a geometric composition. Often referred to as the father of Mexican Modernism, Martínez spent a decade in turn-of-the-century France, where he became acquainted with Picasso and Monet, among other artists. Upon his return to Mexico on the eve of the revolution in 1910, the artist was appointed director of the Academia de San Carlos in Mexico City. Following the revolution, Martínez moved to the United States, where he remained in relative obscurity for several years, overshadowed by notable muralists, like Diego Rivera. Recently his work has been reexamined, and he is now considered to be one of Mexico’s most influential artists for the work he produced in Mexico and California. 

Roberto Montenegro (1887-1968) drew inspiration from the European symbolism of the fin de siècle; he was likewise well versed in forms of popular Mexican folk art. He began his art education in Guadalajara, Mexico, and later attended the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City with painters such as Diego Rivera. Montenegro’s painting La mujer pájaro (The Bird Woman) is representative of his unique blend of ancient, religious and popular styles and techniques. The woman in the image holds a basket over her head, assisted by magical birds. Against a shimmering gold-leaf background akin to religious icons, the scene in this work is lent a dreamlike yet spiritual atmosphere. 

The Zapanta Collection features several works by México’s three greatest muralists, who were known simply as Los tres grandes: José ClementeOrozco, Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros. These artists rejected the Eurocentric academic styles emphasized by the government of Porfirio Díaz. Inspired by the Mexican Revolution (1910-1921), and commissioned by the new education secretary José Vasoncelos, the artists promoted a social agenda to make art accessible to the masses, and to revive interest in Mexico’s indigenous past, and promote popular art. From the 1920s-1950s, Los tres grandes and their contemporaries developed a bold artistic style that defined a new Mexican identity. 

Muralists

José Clemente Orozco (1883-1949) began his career depicting prostitutes in his series Casa de lágrimas (House of Tears), which was seized upon his arrival in the U.S. Mujer sentada (Seated Woman) is characteristic of the artist’s style at the time. The work highlights Orozco’s break from classical renderings of the female nude. He places a partial female bust on a Greek pedestal behind a fragmented female figure in the foreground, thereby juxtaposing classical with modern. For Orozco, art was a vehicle for denouncing social injustice, hypocrisy, and political oppression and to express hope for a new world order and an egalitarian society. 

The most prominent of the Mexican muralists, Diego Rivera (1886-1957) painted indigenous people with great dignity and beauty. The painting Niña con flores (Girl with Flowers), shows his masterful handling of color, highlighted by a combination of rich orange hues on the cobblestones, the girl’s dress, the bouquet of flowers and the lit candles in the background. The other work by Rivera in the collection depicts Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata with his iconic white horse, one of the artist’s most recognizable images. It was extracted from the mural cycle Rivera painted on the walls of the Palacio de Cortés in Cuernavaca. 

David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896-1974) was a politically engaged artist. He was a soldier in the Mexican Revolution and fought against fascism in the Spanish Civil War. Because of his political activism he was imprisoned several times and ultimately exiled. He was also a revolutionary in the arts. Inspired by Italian Futurism and Renaissance art, Siqueiros created dynamic and monumental works. InFilantropía en vacaciones (Philanthropy on Vacation), the artist addresses social injustice by contrasting the frivolity of the three upper-class, carnivalesque figures, with the modest peasant mother and her child.

SECOND GENERATION MURALISTS 

The Zapanta Collection includes a strong selection of second generation Mexican muralists, with works by Raúl Anguiano, Jesús Guerrero Galván, Alfredo Zalce, Francisco Zúñiga, Federico Cantú, and Gustavo Montoya. These artists continued the ideology of the Escuela Mexicana de Pintura and were loyal to the nationalist and social ideals of their predecessors. They celebrated the art and culture of indigenous civilizations and the achievements of the Mexican Revolution at a time when Mexico was undergoing a transformation from an agrarian to an industrial society. 

The Zapanta Collection has one of the world’s best collections of paintings by Raúl Anguiano (1915-2006). Mendiga (Beggar) reveals Anguiano’s ability to communicate his subject’s emotional state through body language. The woman’s suffering is conveyed through her outstretched hand and hidden face. The artist’s knowledge of ancient Mexican art is evident in the still life, Máscara y naranja (Mask and Orange) and Presencia del hombre maya en las olimpiadas (Mayan Man’s Presence at the Olympics), a monumental painting created on the occasion of the 1984 Summer Olympics celebrated in Los Angeles, California. The Mayan figure rendered in color contrasts with the snake that appears in the background, which represents the feathered serpent Quetzalcóatl, an indigenous deity of wisdom. 

Anguiano is particularly well known for his paintings of female figures. This collection includes two excellent examples: Belleza oriental (Oriental Beauty) and a re-creation of his most famous painting titled La espina (The Thorn). This work is a prime example of Anguiano’s masterful representations of indigenous women. The image is a modern version of the original painting he created in 1952, which depicts a contemporary Mayan woman taking a thorn out of her foot in a desolate landscape. Throughout his work, Anguiano represents indigenous people not as mythical figures, but as members of contemporary society. The artist created this work for the Zapanta collection in gratitude for their efforts in securing a commission for him to paint a mural at East Los Angeles college. 

Jesús Guerrero Galván (1910-1973), a prolific painter and draughtsman, is known for his masterful handling of color and line. He infused his work with a lyrical realism and profound sense of spirituality. In Untitled (Sin título), the composition focuses on a young boy listlessly sleeping on a volcanic rock that is warmly illuminated. Associated with both the muralists and the modernist movement, Galván routinely included a social statement in his work, conveying his beliefs in the necessary synthesis of revolution and art. 

Alfredo Zalce (1908-2003) was an accomplished muralist and printmaker. Based on his travels through México in the early 1930s-1940s, he dedicated himself to representing the social struggles of the rural working class. Zalce was a founding member of the Taller de la Gráfica Popular, an important artist print collective, and produced a significant corpus of graphic work. He is represented in this exhibition with a drawing titled Naturaleza muerta y sandía (Still Life with Watermelon). 

Federico Cantú’s (1908-1989) La despedida (The Farewell) balances a tranquil Madonna holding a red rose in the foreground, with a group of fishermen in the background. This painting is emblematic of Cantú’s incorporation of everyday life and people into his religious imagery. 

Born in Costa Rica, Francisco Zúñiga (1912-1998) became one of Mexico’s most celebrated sculptors. He also was a talented draftsman. Madre y niño (Mother and Child) and Mujeres en el mercado (Women at the Market) are emblematic of his representations of women in Mexican society. Zúñiga’s female figures are monumental and proud; they appear seated or firmly standing on fertile ground. Familia con burro (Family with Donkey), also included in this exhibition, depicts a family scene that highlights the mother and her children. 

Gustavo Montoya (1905-2003) is most celebrated for his colorful paintings of children dressed in bright colors against muted backdrops. In Dos niños, uno jugando (Two Children, One Playing), Montoya’s traditionally dressed subjects are highly stylized; the artist emphasizes the interplay of light and color over complex subject matter. 

Women Artists

During the first half of the 20th century, the muralist movement became the most prominent artistic current in Mexican art. These murals often address the history of Mexico, the social implications of the revolution, and class struggle. At the same time, a group of talented women, some of them wives or partners of the muralist painters, created a completely different type of art. Instead of murals, they painted in smaller scale; instead of historical themes, represented their inner worlds, and dreams over social topics. Many of them were inspired by surrealism. Although at first they were overshadowed by other, male artists, eventually their popularity rose exponentially and they have a deeper influence in today’s generations than perhaps the muralists. 

A significant figure in the history of modern art, Frida Kahlo (1907-1954),has become the most recognizable female painter in Mexico. Original Kahlo works are now quite rare, and Richard Zapanta put great effort into acquiring this intimate drawing for his collection. Por la paz (For Peace) was recently exhibited in the Kahlo retrospective in Berlin at the Martin-Gropuis Bau and in Vienna at the Kunstforum Wien. In this self-portrait the artist is represented wearing her signature Tehuana dress. Below her appear four figures in profile and frontal view. The words “Por la paz” were written on a protest sign that Frida carried in a political rally against the military coup in Guatemala prior to her death in 1954. 

Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) was a British-born artist and writer who lived most of her life in Mexico. Martes (estado II) (Tuesday (State II)) is characteristic of Carrington’s themes and pictorial style. In this work, she creates a fantasy world populated by magical animals and enchanted beings. Carrington was fascinated with the subconscious mind and her oneiric imagery explores her sexual identity. 

Like Leonora Carrington, Olga Costa (1913-1993) emigrated to Mexico from Europe. However, instead of the fanastic, she painted familiar scenes of everyday life and commonplace objects.Casa azul (Blue House) is a work of great simplicity and charm.

LA RUPTURA 

During the 1950s and ‘60s, a new generation of Mexican artists challenged the hegemony of the Escuela Mexicana de Pintura, its themes and ideology. This movement known as La Ruptura, rejected the social subject matter and the revolutionary ideals of the muralists. Instead of a romanticized past, they painted images that reflected their contemporary society in Mexico; instead of nationalism, they sought an aesthetic in dialogue with global contemporary art

The most outspoken of the artists associated with La Ruptura, José Luis Cuevas (1934-2017), is represented in the Zapanta Collection with the works: Habituales de la calle 42 (42nd Street Regulars), La feria de Oklahoma (Oklahoma Fair) and El obrador de Juan Carreño (The Workroom of Juan Carreño). Cuevas rejected the bright aesthetic of Diego Rivera and creates a dark and decadent world. He gives voice to the sentiment of his generation in his manifesto “La Cortina de Nopal” in which he denounces the art of the establishment as bureaucratic and suggests that the Escuela Mexicana relied on stereotypes and romanticized scenes that have little to do with the stark reality of contemporary Mexico. 

Another member of La Ruptura, Rafael Coronel (b.1932), has sought a more universal definition of Mexican art. In his work, Coronel focuses on the less fortunate and those who live on the street. However, he paints them with elegance and dignity, as if they were members of the nobility. In Carperos II (Street Performers) he depicts three street performers who carry out their shows in portable tents known as carpas. The other work by Coronel in this exhibition, El abuelo (The Grandfather), is a study of a man nearing death. The artist conveys a sense of drama through the combination of robust lines and a somber palette. As a result of La Ruptura, the next generation of Mexican artists was free to explore a diversity of styles and themes. Two artists from this generation included in the collection could not be more different. 

Alfredo Castañeda (b. 1938) obsessively paints autobiographical images of bearded, obese characters. In Saludo (Greeting), the long-bearded male figure, appears on the left of the composition, against a flat, nondescript background; on the right the outline of a disembodied hand alludes to a fleeting greeting gesture. In contrast, Emilio Ortiz (1936-1987) returns to rural scenes of Mexico in simplified and naïve compositions such as Niño (Boy). 

OAXACA

In the last few years Oaxaca has become the setting of an important artistic movement characterized by vibrant colors and the re-interpretation of pre-Hispanic artistic traditions. 

Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991) is one of the towering figures of Mexican art. Although his style is quite different from that of Los tres grandes, he is also an important muralist. In his youth he worked in a fruit market. He later worked at the Museo Nacional, where he was given the task of drawing and cataloguing every piece in the pre-Hispanic collection. This experience was transformative for the artist and enabled him to create work based on pre-Hispanic art and the intense colors of Mexico. In the 1930s he lived in New York and connected his artistic language to the larger contemporary art world. The Zapantas befriended Tamayo; his work is well represented in this show by two lithographs: Venus negra (Black Venus) and Perfil (Profile), as well as by the drawing Figura (Figure) and the mixograph Niña (Girl). The mixograph process was developed by the Remba family in collaboration with Tamayo, as he wanted his prints to maintain the depth relief texture of his paintings. Tamayo was always in search of modes of synthesis. These particular works are admirable for their economy of line and colour. 

Even though he was world famous, Tamayo always made time to encourage new talent. His influence was felt across Mexico, especially by artists such as Vladimir Cora (b. 1951) from Nayarit, as seen in Mujeres en la puerta (Women at the Door), and Alejandro Colunga (b. 1948) from Guadalajara. Although Colunga drew inspiration from artistic movements such as American Pop Art, Tamayo’s influence is undeniable in paintings like Sol con luna (Sun with Moon). Tamayo succeeded brilliantly in promoting artists from his native Oaxaca, especially Rodolfo Morales and Francisco Toledo. 

Rodolfo Morales (1925-2001) gained recognition as an artist later in life, after a 30-year career as an art teacher. One day, while organizing a party at the home of the sculptor Geles Carbrera, he used his own collages as decorations. Cabrera was so impressed by his work that she organized an exhibition for him. Tamayo then saw his works and began to promote him. After the Zapantas met Morales, they had him stay with them for a period of time, and hosted a party in his honor. Remarkably shy, he noted that he was not very good giving speeches and preferred to participate in the celebration by painting. Thus, Rebecca Zapanta accompanied him to a local art store to buy brushes, paints and canvases. Morales welcomed guests with exquisite paintings and collages. He painted for them for the duration of the gathering. 

Rodolfo Morales’ paintings have had great success on the international art scene. Despite his success, Morales lived modestly and contributed the proceeds from the sale of his works to the restoration of colonial buildings in the city of Ocotlán where he was born. The three works by Morales selected for this exhibition are emblematic of his style, which incorporates elements of magic realism as well as details from his surroundings. 

An important figure in modern Mexican art, Francisco Toledo (b.1940) was encouraged by Rufino Tamayo, whose work influenced his own practice; today Toledo is widely considered to be Mexico’s greatest living artist. Composition Au Cheval (Composition with Horse) is a significant example of his style inspired by pre-Columbian civilizations and its myths. Like Morales, Toledo has had an enormous impact on his hometown where he has established numerous institutions, among them an art library, a library for the blind and a music library. He has become a staunch defender of Oaxaca’s cultural patrimony. In his art, Toledo examines the sacred dimension of life; he explores ancient myths and magic with seriousness and beauty.