Known as Mexico's first artistic photographer, Manuel Alvarez Bravo was born today, in 1902, and lived to be 100! His exposure to art began at an early age, since his grandfather was a portrait artist and although his father was a teacher, he also practiced his own art. Bravo was raised in Mexico City and was primarily self taught in photography, after meeting some other photographers, purchasing a camera and experimenting. He began with work for magazines, but in 1930 went free lance.
His principle subjects were street genre, interactions, folk art, rituals and nudes. Initially inflenced by European art (Cubism, Surrealism, etc.) he abandoned that and as time went on he became more involved with the symbolism of Mexican culture. Bravo was known for having a knack to discover and capture hidden or surreal meaning in a subject. The photo below is an example of his rural street subjects. I love the way the young woman pictured resembles the Virgin in a Holy niche...
He also photographed art and in fact founded the Fondo Editorial de la Plastica Mexicana an organization that created books of Mexican art. His work has been shown in many, many exhibitions across the world. Over 4000 images are housed in Centro Fotográfico Álvarez Bravo, in Oaxaca, a non-profit center for photographers' work.
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