22/08/2021
When those outside Latin America think of the art of that region what most likely comes to mind are the works of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and perhaps those of the Mexican muralists Orozco and Siquieros. Yet rich and rewarding traditions of artistic endeavour, particularly in the twentieth century, can be found in all the countries of Central and South America and the Caribbean. This gallery attempts to introduce our followers to some of them.
Throughout the nineteenth century, European-inspired Realism was the dominant style in Latin America, as exemplified in the works of the Venezuelan Arturo Michelena, the Brazilian Belmiro de Almeida, and others. In the early decades of the twentieth century, however, it was mostly supplanted by various Modernist styles: Cubism (Ángel Zárraga & Emilio Pettoruti); the Picasso-esque work of the Cuban, Wifredo Lam; Surrealism (Leonor Fini, Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington); Abstract Expressionism (the Chilean Roberto Matta); the indigenous modernism of the Mexican "muralists" (Rufino Tamayo & Alfredo Ramos Martínez, among others); Photorealism (the Chilean Claudio Bravo and the Cuban Tomás Sánchez); and, of course, the idiosyncratic and charming work of the Columbian Fernando Botero. The works of all these artists, as well as many others, are featured in this gallery.
Although the work of seventy (70) different artists are included in this gallery, all are from the post-colonial period and only the first 33 works were done before 1900. (For the Pre-Columbian art of the Americas, see our two MWW Non-Western Special Collections.) To keep the gallery at a manageable size, we've only included a few sculptures. We've also only presented a few representative works by the artists featured in our MWW ¡Que Viva Mexico! gallery -- Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. For a comprehensive treatment of their work, see that gallery and the companion one on Rivera's murals.
The 470 works in this gallery are presented in the rough chronological order of their creation. As is MWW custom, most of the entries include commentary (in English) from authoritative sources, which you can read if you click on "See More" under the picture's identifying information (artist, title, medium, dimensions, location) to the right of the full-screen image. Biographical information about the artists accompany their self-portraits/portraits or one of their early pictures.
See also these two MWW galleries on Mexican Art:
* ¡Que Viva Mexico! -- Renaissance South of the Border
* Diego Rivera - The Great Mural Cycles