Week 7 post Maria Izquierdo

Maria Izquierdo is the artist I plan on presenting; Izquierdo was born in 1902 in San Juan de los Lagos in Jalisco Mexico and died Dec 2 1955 at age 55. The post revolutionary Mexico she was born into has been described as being from post war depression to a growing appreciation and optimism for “Mexicanidad” Art. Izquierdo was married off young and had three children by the time she turned 17, she then later remarried and moved to Mexico city in 1923 where she began her art career in painting. Immediately she was noticed and praised by Diego Rivera, then later started an affair with artist Rufino Tamayo that helped shape her best works. Tamayo left Izquierdo in the late 20’s that spawned emotionally reflected artworks in the 30’s and personal fruitions of her best works in the 40’s. One of those works being Izquierdo’s Sorrowful Friday 1944-45. The painting depicts a weeping Virgen de Guadalupe on a traditional altar that would be found in most Mexican homes during the Catholic celebration and remebrance of the Virgin . Izquierdo’s style has been described as a rejecting of most post revolutionary political art that dominated the area and time; although she has been ironically placed in surrealist genres, she chooses to reflect her own life through her paintings letting personal events shape the canvas rather than social realities, adopting a certain level of humanity to her work. A New York Times article on her Sorrowful Friday describes a “spiritually infused domestic world of traditional Mexico is captured in a sophisticated faux-naive style.” This description just touches the surface on the piece, the use of dark earthy colours and a certain “stillness” aesthetic give it an unquestionable traditional Mexican aesthetic.