María Izquierdo 1902-1955 Painter

Hello class for my presentation I will be showing Maria Izquierdo who was a famous Mexican Painter. She was born on Oct 30th 1902 in San Juan de los Lagos in Jalisco and died Dec 2 1955 at age 55. She lived a controlled early life where she was arranged a marriage young and had 3 children by age 17. In 1923 her family moved to Mexico City where she began her art career. Her early training began when she first arrived to Mexico City, in 1928 she enrolled in Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes, in 1931 She left Bellas Artes and associated herself with the movimiento Pro-Arte Mexicano movement and collaborated with several other artsist like Rufino Tamayo, Julio Castellanos, and Adolfo Best Maugard who started the movement where they believed Mexican culture should be open to international influences and modernity. in 1934, Tamayo, being one of Izquierdo's main mentors, inspired her work henceforth into her fame. Izquierdo enjoyed numerous accolades and exhibitions, one of the first from her time in Artes Bellas where she participated in 4 exhibitions from 1928 to 1929 gaining wide recognition and even praise from Diego Rivera. An exhibition held in Mexico City's Centro Cultural/Arte Contemporaneo in 1987-88 also complimented her professional standing and legacy post-mortum. In the 40's where Izquierdo's fame peaked she was given the title of cultural ambassador for Mexico where she traveled to several South American countries evolving and perfecting her craft. Izquierdo's works have been compared to Frida Kahlo and has been described as being a surreal, primitive, and a cultural painter although she has never claimed these styles. Her subjects were mainly women including, self portraits and drawings where she used bright and bold colors to add character to her depictions, along with women she also heavily relied on inspirations from national Mexican holidays and themes like Dias de los Muertos. Although she never claimed herself to be a feminist artists she has been quoted as describing the new chica moderna as to be at forefronts of revolutionary change and to excel beyond the stigma of being a males luxury item. She is one of the main Mexican Female artists in the artistic pantheon and I believe she is worth this presentation greatly and a valuable relic to Mexican/ Chicana art. here are 3 of her art works with brief reactions from myself.

 Allegory of Freedom 1937, shows an angel taking severed heads off into a storm filled sky, this depiction could possibly be linked to her rise to fame where she will face both heightened status (the sky) but possible corruptions and trials (the storm)

 Sorrowful Friday 1944-45, Shows an alter with an image of a woman who seems to be la Virgen, maybe she chose to paint this to signify the importance of this Mexican Icon while still representing the "sorrow" through what most perceive her as at the time, an unrealistic icon of women ideals.

My Aunt, a Little Friend, and Me 1942, is a pretty self explanatory piece but still gives an aura of dread with the distorted background and scenery with mannequin like poses, I cant help but feel compelled to view yet off put.

The images selected come to show the surreal aesthetic that propelled her fame and consistent praise.