About this artwork
At the Taller de Gráfica Popular Anguiano was known as a versatile artist, especially in his favored medium of lithography, producing unsparing images of the urban poor, mordant caricatures, and idealized portraits like Head of a Mayan Woman. This composition is part of a series, begun in 1939 and based upon women from different Mexican regions and ethnic groups, that reveals the diversity of Mexican citizenry and plays upon the postrevolutionary ideal of mestizaje, Mexico’s mixed racial heritage. The monumental scale of these prints reflects not only the artist’s training as a muralist but also his deep respect for his subjects. Anguiano focused here on the sculptural qualities of the woman’s head, using subtle chiaroscuro, built up with softly crosshatched strokes of the lithographic crayon, in order to articulate her distinctive features.
Español:
En el Taller de Gráfica Popular, Anguiano era conocido por ser un artista versátil, en especial cuando se trataba de su medio preferido, la litografía. En éste produjo imágenes implacables sobre la pobreza urbana, caricaturas mordaces y retratos idealizados, tales como Cabeza de una mujer maya. Esta última forma parte de una serie que empezó en 1939 sobre mujeres de diferentes regiones y grupos étnicos de México. En ella se muestra la diversidad de ciudadanías mexicanas y se aborda el ideal postrevolucionario del mestizaje. La escala monumental de estos grabados son una expresión no sólo del talento del artista en cuanto muralista, sino del profundo respeto que le tenía a sus sujetos. Anguiano se concentró aquí en las cualidades esculturales de la cabeza de la mujer mediante el uso sutil del claroscuro, realzado con suaves trazados entramados del lápiz litográfico, para así dar forma a sus rasgos característicos.
-
Status
- Currently Off View
-
Department
- Prints and Drawings
-
Artist
- Raúl Anguiano
-
Title
- Head of a Mayan Woman (Head of a Mexican Woman)
-
Place
- Mexico (Artist's nationality:)
-
Date
- 1939
-
Medium
- Lithograph in black on cream wove paper
-
Dimensions
- Image: 50 × 38.4 cm (19 11/16 × 15 1/8 in.); Sheet: 63.9 × 50 cm (25 3/16 × 19 11/16 in.)
-
Credit Line
- William McCallin McKee Memorial Endowment
-
Reference Number
- 1944.737
-
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.
