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Woman with a Bird Cage

A work made of oil on canvas.
© Tamayo Heirs / Mexico / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

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  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

1941

Artist:

Rufino Tamayo (Mexican, 1899–1991)

About this artwork

Woman with a Bird Cage combines Rufino Tamayo’s deep appreciation of ancient Mesoamerican art with his interest in Cubism, the 20th-century abstract art movement created by artists Pablo Picasso and George Braque. The influence of Cubism is apparent in the woman’s body, which Tamayo fractured into planes of color. Yet her distinctive elongated ear, large nose, open mouth, and the other aspects of her form reflect the Indigenous artist’s study of West Mexican ceramic sculptures (similar examples of which are on view in Gallery 136), which he collected enthusiastically. The synthesis of the two styles suggests his desire to introduce personal aspects of his Zapotec identity into modernist painting.

Status

On View, Gallery 161

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Rufino Tamayo

Title

Woman with a Bird Cage

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.

1941

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed and inscribed recto, bottom-right, in black pigment: "Tamayo / 41". Titled and signed verso, top-middle, on stretcher, in graphite: "WOMAN with A BIRD CAGE / TAMAYO".

Dimensions

109.4 × 83.8 cm (43 1/4 × 33 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Joseph Winterbotham Collection

Reference Number

1942.57

Copyright

© Tamayo Heirs / Mexico / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

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.

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