History of Mexican Art: Colonial to Contemporary Periods

Study Guidelines and Core Terminology

• Identification Requirements:     * Identify images and provide basic chronology (determine which of two artworks is older).     * Associate images with specific time periods or styles (indicated in red on slides).     * Understand the context of production, iconography (figures and elements), and representational style (e.g., rigid, frontal, exaggerated).
• Key Art History Terms:     * Colonial/Baroque: Criollo, Churrigueresque, estípite, casta painting.     * Institutions/Politics: Fine Arts Academy of San Carlos (est. $1783$), Enlightenment, El Porfiriato, positivism, Cuauhtémoc, Vasconcelos, The XIX Olympic Games in Mexico ($1968$).     * Art Movements: Neoclassicism, History painting, Romanticism, (chromo-)lithography, costumbrismo, Modernismo, Calaveras, Muralism, stridentism, TGP (People's Graphic Workshop), Surrealism (André Breton), integración plastica (visual and structural integration), Mexican school, "The generation of the rupture," Found objects, readymade.

Colonial and Baroque Art ($16^{th}$–$18^{th}$ Century)

• Virgin of Guadalupe: $16^{th}$ century; Early Colonial period (Viceroyalty of New Spain).
• De Balbás, Retablo de los Reyes (Altar of the Kings): $1730s$, Cathedral of Mexico City; gilded and painted wood; Baroque and Churrigueresque styles featuring estípites.
• Rodríguez, church façade of Sagrario Metropolitano: $ca.\,1750$, Mexico City; Baroque and Churrigueresque styles; features prominent estípites.
• Cabrera, From Spaniard and Indian, Mestiza: $ca.\,1760s$; casta painting; Baroque style influenced by the Enlightenment.

Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment ($1780s$–$1870s$)

• López, Matías de Gálvez y Gallardo: $ca.\,1790$; represents the Vice-Protector of the Academia de San Carlos.
• Ximento y Planes, Portrait of José Maria Rodallega (Portrait of Silversmith): $1800$; Neoclassicism.
• Castañeda, View of the palace façade at Mitla: $1820s$; ink and wash; Neoclassicism/Enlightenment.
• Cordero, Christopher Columbus at the Court of the Catholic Monarchs: $1850$; Neoclassicism and History painting.
• Vilar, The Tlaxcalan (General Tlahuicole): $ca.\,1850$; plaster sculpture; Neoclassicism.
• Obregón, The Discovery of Pulque: $ca.\,1870$; Neoclassicism and History painting.

Independence, Romanticism, and Costumbrismo

• Anonymous, Portrait of José María Morelos: $1810s$; Romanticism and the War for Independence ($1810$-$21$).
• Catherwood, Uxmal (Maya): $1840s$; colored (chromo-)lithograph; Romanticism.
• Estrada, Portrait of Manuela Gutiérrez: $1830s$; costumbrismo style representing a child aged one year and four months.

El Porfiriato and Modernismo ($1880s$–$1910$)

• Monument to Cuauhtémoc: $1880s$, Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City; El Porfiriato period.
• Izaguirre, The Torture of Cuauhtémoc: $1890s$; Realism and History painting under El Porfiriato.
• Contreras, Malgré Tout (In Spite of Everything): $ca.\,1900$; marble; Modernismo.
• Ruelas, The Critic: $ca.\,1900$; etching/print showing a monster-like insect; Modernismo.
• Herrán, The Legend of the Volcanos: $1910$; Modernismo.
• Posada, Calaveras of the Masses: $1910$; print; features calaveras iconography and social commentary verses.

Muralism and the Mexican School ($1920s$–$1950s$)

• Montenegro, The Three of Life: $1920s$, Mexico City; tempera; Muralism/Vasconcelos.
• Charlot, Massacre in the Templo Mayor: $ca.\,1920s$, Mexico City; fresco; Muralism.
• Rivera, The New School ($1920s$) and The Arsenal ($late\,1920s$): SEP, Mexico City; frescos; Muralism.
• Rivera, Flower Day: $1920s$; oil on canvas; The Mexican School.
• Orozco, Cortés and Malinche ($1920s$) and Hidalgo ($1930s$): Frescos; Muralism.
• Siqueiros, Proletarian Mother: $ca.\,1930$; oil on burlap.
• Abraham Ángel, Little Mule: $1920s$; oil on cardboard; Folk art/Primitivism.
• Costa, The Fruit Seller: $ca.\,1950$; oil on canvas; The Mexican School.

Modernist Trends: Stridentism and Surrealism

• Modotti, Telephone Wires: $ca.\,1925$; palladium print; Stridentism.
• Frida Kahlo, Henry Ford Hospital (The Flying Bed): $ca.\,1930s$; oil on metal; Surrealism.
• Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas: $1930s$; Surrealism.
• Leopoldo Méndez, Televicious Calaveras: $1940s$; print; TGP (People's Graphic Workshop).
• Manuel Álvarez Bravo, The Good Reputation, Sleeping: $1930s$; photograph; Surrealism.
• Izquierdo, Prisoners: $1930s$; gouache; Surrealism.

Mid-Century Integration and Contemporary Art

• Lola Alvarez Bravo, Architectural Anarchy in Mexico City: $ca.\,1950$; photomontage.
• Barragán and Cetto, Casa Berdecio: $ca.\,1950$, Mexico City.
• Siqueiros, The People for the University…: $1950s$, CU, Mexico City; Late Muralism and integración plastica.
• Goeritz with Barragán, Towers of Ciudad Satélite: $1950s$; integración plastica.
• Terrazas et al., Mexico 68 Logo: $1967$; designed for the XIX Olympic Games.
• Gabriel Orozco, Empty Shoe Box: $1990s$; found objects/readymade.
• Abaroa, Portable Broken Obelisk for Street Markets: $1990s$; mobile installation.
• Ortiz Torres, The Revolution Will Be Televised: $1990s$; woodcut and lithograph.
• Margolles, What else can we talk about?: $2009$; Mexican Pavilion, Venice Biennale.
• Glassford, Xipe Toltec: $2010$, Plaza de las Tres Culturas, Mexico City.