Beschreibung:

Rufino Tamayo Mujer india 1942 oil on canvas 46 1/2 x 36 5/8 in. (118.1 x 93 cm.) Signed and dated "Tamayo 42" lower left.
Provenance Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Selwyn S. Schwartz, Chicago, 1959 Nathan Cummings, New York Sotheby's, New York, Modern Mexican Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture & Prints, April 5, 1978, lot 47 Galería Guereta, Madrid Private Collection, Mexico City By descent to the present owner Exhibited Paris, Musée Nacional de'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Art Mexicain du Precolombien a Nous Tours, 21 May - July 1952 London, The Tate Gallery, Mexican Art From Pre-Colombian Times to the Present Day, 4 March - 26 April, 1953 New York, Pierre Matisse Gallery, War and the Artist, 9 March - 3 April, 1943 New York, Pierre Matisse Gallery, 11 Nudes by XX Century Artists, 10-28 April, 1945 Literature Art Mexicain du Precolombien a Nous Tours, exh. cat., Musée Nacional d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, 1952, p.106 (Illustrated) R. Goldwater, ed., Tamayo, New York: The Cuadrangle Press, 1947, pp.87 (Illustrated) P. Ceferino, Rufino Tamayo Ediciones de Arte - Colección Anáhuac de Arte Mexicano, no. 24 (1950), p.54 (Illustrated) Catalogue Essay “A revolutionary painter must be revolutionary in his method." Rufino Tamayo “I believe the major influence on me is the spirit of all contemporary painting; that is to say, that in my work all the problems of contemporary painting are present." Rufino Tamayo As early as the 1920s, Rufino Tamayo had been traveling between Mexico City and New York, but by the late 1930s he had taken up a more permanent residence in New York after having one-man shows at both the famous Julien Levy Gallery and Valentine Gallery. Using a strategic blend of primitivism and modernist forms, Tamayo developed a unique vanguard that by the 1940s was becoming immediately recognizable and internationally acclaimed. Tamayo won special status among the international avant-garde due to his Zapotec heritage and indigenous features, which served to legitimize his native vision that synthesized realism and primitive art. His life began in Oaxaca but he was orphaned at a young age, forcing him to move to Mexico City in 1917 to live with a benevolent aunt. There Tamayo first discovered his love of art, secretly sneaking of to classes at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in the morning while working in the afternoons selling fruit for the family business at the Mercado de la Merced. He came of age in Mexico during a time when “Los Tres Grandes” (Diego Rivera José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros dominated the Mexican art scene with their public murals idealizing the Mexican Revolution and promoting their socialist ideals. Tamayo reacted strongly against this trend, calling for a “new realism” that would produce a universal art without political intentions, drawing inspiration from the contemporary world rather than the styles of old masters. New York City granted Tamayo exposure to international artists and modernist trends. He was undeniably influenced by Picasso, whose work he saw in New York gallery exhibitions, but Tamayo drew from many other sources of inspiration as well. By 1942, when he painted Mujer india, Tamayo had developed a unique visual style that incorporated Cubism within his deep understanding of Mexican culture, firmly grounding his work in realism while taking creative liberties in color and composition. In this particular painting, Tamayo remains true to his origins, choosing for his subject a Mexican fruit vendor. The woman’s indigenous features are prominently accentuated by the rich brown hues with which Tamayo depicts her skin color. This painting helps to explain why the artist was renowned for his exceptional abilities as a colorist, often being compared to Matisse in this regard. The deep browns, brilliant reds and striking yellow ochre create a push and pull of contrasting colors that imbue the painting with dynamic movement in an otherwise static scene. However, this painting is much more than simply a woman selling fruit in a local Mexican market. He