Luis de Mena

Happy Birthday Luis de Mena!

Although we have very few details about this painter of religious works, we do know he was born in the 1700's.  It has been speculated that Mena was a Creole due to the era in which he was born and his style of painting. Luis de Mena's works were primarily "casta" and included signs of daily life such as fruits, shells, etc. He was a contemporary of Miguel Cabrera, also a painter of caste or genre scenes and perhaps was influenced by him. The painting below, on display in Madrid, Spain, at the Museo de America is unusual in that it features the Virgin of Guadalupe.

*casta refers to racial hierarchy classification...used primarily to socially rank those of mixed racial marriage.

Hector Xavier

Happy Birthday Hector Xavier!

Born in 1921, Hector Xavier's father abandoned the family when he was quite young so he often joked that he was the son of the unknown soldier!

He was actually one of Mexico's greatest sketch artists (drawers) of the 20th century. His work was published in books and periodicals, leading him to become a member of the literary world more than the art world. His work was primarily in portraiture, flora, animals and the human figure, in pen and ink. Georges Rouault was his main influence in the area of fauna, with Leonardo da Vinci a predominant source for his silverpoint work later. I can also see Albrecht Durer as an influence.

I am particularly fond of the owl pictured below because of the sparingly used line creating just enough value...with the white space taking on more importance. "Less is more"

Xavier lived to be 73, dying of respiratory failure in 1994.

Mario Orozco Rivera

Happy Birthday Mario Orozco Rivera!

Mario Orozco Rivera was born January 19, 1930, in Mexico City, into a circus family, with which he performed at a young age before becoming a painter, sculptor and muralist. He jokingly referred to Jose Clemente Orozco as his father (actually a cousin) and Diego Rivera as his mother!

Orozco Rivera studied art at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda". Following his studies he traveled the world before returning to Mexico to concentrate on his art. A member of first the Mexican Communist Party, then the Unified Socialist Party of Mexico, he viewed art as a vehicle for social and political commentary and felt murals conveyed this message better than easel work, which he regarded as too commercial. His primary influence was muralist David Alfaro Siquieros, to whom he was apprenticed and worked in collaboration..

Not only a visual artist, Orozco Rivera was a poet, composer and musician, as well as a spokesperson for the arts and literature. He won several awards and his work has been displayed across the world.

Francisco Moreno Capdevila

Happy Birthday Francisco Moreno Capdevila!

This artist was born on January 18, 1926, in Spain, but came to Mexico with his family at age 13, for political refuge, in 1939. Capdevila studied painting, became known for graphic arts and engraving but also did mural work. He was a student of Santos Balmori (painting) and Carlos Alvarado Lang (printmaking). His work has been shown all over the world.

 Destruction of the City of Mexico-Tenochtitlan is Capdevila's most well known mural, and unique in that it is acryllic painted on aluminum panels, making it portable. Recently restored, the piece measures 3 meters tall and 9 meters wide. I am including a portion of it below. Destruction is evident in the startled look of the fiery orange horses and the grim purples used to paint a picture of doom in the skeletal prisoners.  It hangs at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in the law school.

He died May 3, 1995.

Mary Martin

Happy Birthday Mary Martin!

Mary Martin (Maria Luisa Martin) born in Salamanca, Spain, 1927 had a very dramatic beginning to life. Her family attempted to flee Spain following the Spanish Civil War, was caught and her father was sent to a concentration camp! After he escaped, they were able to make it to Mexico where she began general studies, but left school to study art as a teen.

Martin was married to Eduardo Vasquez Jimenez (architect) and she concentrated on drawing and painting early on, turning to printmaking later, as well as teaching. Printmaking gave Mary Martin a "mouthpiece" for expressing her opinions on political and social issues such as the workingclass, indigenous peoples, the downtrodden Mexican woman, etc. She was also very supportive of the Cuban Revolution.

Her artwork was influenced by great Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera. She has exhibited all over the world. Her printmaking was characterized with by, solid black lines and contrasting ochre hues. Hacia el Seminaria (Toward the Seminar), 1957, is the title of the engraving below in the aforementioned style. Maria Luisa Martin died of cancer at the age of 65.

Gelsen Gas

Happy Birthday Gelsen Gas!

Although we do not know what day Gelsen Gas (Angel Sanchez Gas) was born on, we do know he 
was born in 1933, in Mexico City. You could classify him as a "multi-tasking" artist with his hands in many, many aspects of art. Primarily known for painting, he also was a film maker (Anticlimax), actor, poet,sculptor and inventor!

Perhaps his most well know painting is Homenage a Magritte, an homage to Surrealist Rene Magritte, housed in the permanent collection at the Museo de Arte Moderno (The Museum of Modern Art), in Mexico City. Gelsen Gas recently died in 2015.

 CC BY-SA 3.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20353276

Carlos Alvarado Lang

Happy Birthday Carlos Alvarado Lang!!...a day late

Carlos Alvarado Lang was a printmaker, born on January 14, 1905 and lived until September 3, 1961. He began his studies at the young age of fourteen at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas de la Universidad (the National School of Fine Arts). Later he studied printmaking with Emiliano Valadez, at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes, in San Carlos, Mexico. His work has been exhibited all over the world.