Skip to Content

Weaver of Bécal Hats, from Estampas de Yucatán

A work made of lithograph in black on cream wove paper.
© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SOMAAP, Mexico City

Image actions

  • A work made of lithograph in black on cream wove paper.

Date:

1945, published 1946

Artist:

Alfredo Zalce (Mexican, 1908-2003)
printed by Jose Sanchez (Mexican, 20th century)
printed at Taller de Gráfica Popular (Mexican, 1937-)
published by La Estampa Mexicana (Mexican, 20th century)

About this artwork

Like many of his contemporaries, Zalce expressed a deep interest in the varied indigenous and regional cultures of Mexico. The eight prints in the Estampas de Yucatán portfolio—which was successfully marketed in both Mexico and the United States—attest to his enduring fascination with contemporary Mayan culture following an extended trip in 1944 to the southeastern Mexican region of the Yucatán. Here he presented the Maya as a dignified and contained people existing in harmony with their environment. The prints focus on characteristic gestures and seemingly unchanged rituals of work, as well as on the area’s lush and bountiful terrain, both imposing and sustaining in its presence. Such lyrical meditations on a provincial present and its connection to an idealized indigenous past correspond with the postrevolutionary conceptions of mexicanidad, the recognition of Mexican popular traditions and regional cultures.

Español:
Al igual que muchos de sus contemporáneos, Zalce demostró un gran interés en las diferentes culturas indígenas y regionales de México. Los ocho grabados que componen el portafolio Estampas de Yucatán —que se vendió muy bien tanto en Estados Unidos como en México— son prueba de su sostenida fascinación por la cultura maya contemporánea, surgida tras un largo viaje en 1944 a la península de Yucatán. En los grabados presentó a los mayas como un pueblo digno y reservado que habita en armonía con su medio ambiente. Los grabados se centran en gestos característicos y en rituales de trabajo que aparentemente no habían cambiado con el tiempo, así como en el terreno exuberante y próspero de la zona— simultáneamente imponente y pródigo en su presencia. Estas meditaciones líricas sobre un presente provinciano y su conexión con un pasado indígena idealizado se corresponden con los conceptos posrevolucionarios de mexicanidad, el reconocimiento de las tradiciones populares y de las culturas regionales de México.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Alfredo Zalce

Title

Weaver of Bécal Hats, from Estampas de Yucatán

Place

Mexico (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1945

Medium

Lithograph in black on cream wove paper

Dimensions

Image: 29 × 33.9 cm (11 7/16 × 13 3/8 in.); Sheet: 38.7 × 44.8 cm (15 1/4 × 17 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Earle Ludgin

Reference Number

1951.105.4

Copyright

© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SOMAAP, Mexico City

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share