Hispanic Artists By: Lizzie Cullipher

Frida Kahlo de Rivera Born on July 6, 1907, in Coyoacán, Mexico. Died on July 13, 1954, in Coyoacán, Mexico. Her death was reportedly due to pulmonary embolism, even though some speculated it was because of an overdose.

Facts About Frida Kahlo Frida lied about her birth date, stating that it was July 7, 1910, because she wanted it to coincide with the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. At six years of age, she got Polio, which resulted in her right leg appearing thinner than the other. At a young age, she was riding a bus when it collided with a trolley car. An iron handrail punctured her abdomen and uterus. She would later die from surgery complications from this. She was married to Diego Rivera, another Hispanic artist. Both her and her husband would have extramarital affairs. She would have these affairs with both genders.

Styles "I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.“ Of her 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits. Her work was classified as Naïve Art or Folk Art (“surrealist”). Her paintings were influenced by the Mexican culture.

Contributions Kahlo was a part of the Surrealism movement. Surrealist: works that feature the element of surprise. This movement began in the early 1920s.

Self-portrait with a Monkey 1938 Even though in Mexican Mythology, monkeys were symbolic of lust, Kahlo painted the monkey here, with it’s arm around her, as a symbol of protection.

The Two Fridas 1939 This painting was created after Kahlo’s and Rivera’s divorce. The Frida on the right represents the Frida that Diego loved and respected. The Frida on the left represents the more refined Frida that Diego abandoned.

The Wounded Deer 1946 In this painting, Frida represents herself as a wounded young stag. She painted this when she discovered the surgery done on her spine would not cure her back pain. She used her own deer, “Granizo”, as the model for the painting.

Diego Rivera Born on December 8, 1886, in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico. Died on November 24, 1957, in Mexico City, Mexico.

Facts about Diego Rivera Diego had a twin brother named Carlos, who died at the age of two. He began drawing when he was three, and when he would draw on the walls, his parents installed chalkboards for him to draw on. He fathered at least one illegitimate child. He was married twice before meeting Kahlo (she was 22 and he was 42). He was an atheist.

Styles He painted numerous murals (in San Francisco, Mexico City, and in Rockefeller in New York City). One of his murals was criticized for it’s atheist commentary: “God does not exist.” Even though his work was criticized, he refused to change it saying, “I am an atheist and I consider religions to be a form of collective neurosis.”

Contributions He was a part of the Mexican Muralist Movement. Mexican Muralist: predominantly a social realist style art movement. This Mexican art movement took place between the 1920s and 1930s.

El Hombre en la Encrucijada 1934 This mural can be found in Mexico City in the Palacio de Bellas. The title can be translated to “Man, Controller of the Universe”.

En el Arsenal 1928 The people in this mural were based off of real people Diego had come in contact with over the years. On the right hand side, Tina Modotti holds an ammunition belt and faces Julio Antonio Mella in the light hat, and Vittorio Vidali in the black hat.

Mexico’s History 1929 This mural can be found in the National Palace in Mexico City. It is one of Diego’s most famous murals.

Pablo Picasso Died on April 8, 1973, in Mougins, France. Born on October 25, 1881, in Málaga, Spain. Died on April 8, 1973, in Mougins, France. His last words were, “Drink to me, drink to my health, you know I can’t drink anymore.”

Facts about Pablo Picasso When Picasso was thirteen, his father found him painting over his unfinished drawing of a pigeon. His father saw his son’s work and decided he would give up art because of how advanced his son was compared to himself. His seven year old sister, Conchita, died of diphtheria. In 1927, he had a secret affair with seventeen year old Marie-Thérèse Walter, eventually fathering a child with her. Throughout his life, he was married twice and had four children by three women.

Styles “Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.” His works are displayed in the Museu Picasso in Barcelona. The estimated number of works he produced (including paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and drawings) was about 50,000. He modeled his work after El Greco, that included elements of elongated limbs and mystical visages.

Contributions Picasso was a part of the Cubism movement. Cubism: In cubist artworks, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstract form; depicting an image through different view-points. The Cubism movement took place between 1907 and 1911.

Dora Maar au Chat 1941 This painting depicts one of Picasso’s lovers, Dora Maar. She is sitting on a chair with a small cat on her shoulder. This piece is one of the world’s most expensive paintings. It was last sold for over $100 million.

The Old Guitarist 1903 This painting is of an old, blind man hunched over his guitar. Picasso painted this picture because of his failing health and the suicide of a friend. Several x-rays have shown that there are three different figures hidden behind the guitarist.

Guernica 1937 This painting was created after the bombing Guernica, Basque Country, in the Spanish Civil War. It shows the tragedies of war and how it impacts innocent civilians.

Diego Velázquez Born on June 6, 1599, in Seville, Spain. Died on August 6, 1660, in Madrid Spain. He died of a fever and was buried in the church of San Juan Bautista.

Facts about Diego Velázquez He painted portraits for the royal family and Phillip IV. In 1627, Phillip held a competition between the best painters of Spain and Velázquez won. Many of his paintings went missing. He was presented with a gold chain for painting a portrait of Pope Innocent X. His wife died eight days after he passed away and they were buried side by side, only to have the church be destroyed by the French in 1811.

Styles Édouard Manet called Velázquez the “painter of painters”. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period. His work was the model for the realist and impressionist painters like Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali.

Contributions He was a part of the Realism and Impressionism movement. Realism and Impressionism: Depicting ordinary objects through the view of third person with very small, thin, brush strokes. After Velázquez started realism and impressionism, the movement didn’t catch on till the 1800s.

Las Meninas 1656 This picture depicts Infanta Margarita in the palace of King Phillip IV, surrounded by her maids of honor, chaperone, body guard, two dwarfs, and a dog. On the far left side Velázquez painted himself as if he was painting another picture. Also, in the back of the room is a mirror and in its reflection are the king and queen.

The Surrender of Breda 1635 This painting was inspired by Velázquez’s trip to Italy with Ambrogio Spinola, the Italian general who conquered Breda. It is said to have been “one of the most Spanish of all pictures.”

Coronation of the Virgin 1644 In this painting, the three main characters are positioned in the shape of a heart. The Virgin Mary is in the center of the painting; she is pointing to her heart. The Holy Spirit is above her in the form of a dove. The Holy Spirit, God of the Father (left of Mary), and Jesus Christ (right of Mary), form the Holy Trinity.

Salvador Dalí Born on May 11, 1904, in Figueres, Spain. Died on January 23, 1989, in Figueres, Spain. He died of heart failure and was buried in the crypt of his Teatro Museo.

Facts about Salvador Dali When his brother died, Dalí’s parents took him to his brother’s grave and told him he was his brother’s reincarnation. His moustache, influenced by Diego Velázquez, became an iconic trademark. For a costume party, him and his wife dressed up as the Lindbergh baby and his kidnapper. He later had to apologize for the uproar over their costumes. He painted pictures for Gabrielle Coco Chanel.

Styles He was influenced by Renaissance artists. He believed his skills came from a self-styled “Arab lineage”, descending from the Moors. He was a major inspiration for modern artists. Overall he created over 1,500 paintings.

Contributions He was a part of the Surrealism, Cubism, and Dadaism movements. Dadaism movement: A movement involved with visual arts, literature, poetry, and graphic design that has to do with anti-war politics. The Dadaism movement took place during the 1960s.

The Persistence of Memory 1931 This painting of melting pocket watches was rejected at first because it symbolized time as rigid.

Galatea of the Spheres 1952 This picture depicts Dalí’s wife and muse, Gala Dalí. The word ‘Galatea’ refers to a sea nymph that is known for her virtue. Dalí was very interested in nuclear physics, so when the first atomic bomb exploded, he created this painting depicting the atomic particles.

Swans Reflecting Elephants 1937 This is one of Dalí’s double images. The swans bodies make up the elephants’ heads, while the trees behind the swans make up the elephants’ legs.

Francisco de Goya Born on March 30, 1746, in Aragón, Spain. Died on April 16, 1828, in Bordeaux, France. He died of a stroke and in 1919, his remains were transferred to the Royal Chapel of St. Anthony of La Florida in Madrid.

Facts about Francisco de Goya King Carlos III commissioned Goya to paint his portrait. Between 1792 and 1793, Goya was stricken with an illness that left him deaf. When his wife died, Goya became very depressed. His nurse had to take care of him. There had been some speculation they were romantically involved with each other.

Styles Goya was dubbed the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. His work was the model for artists Manet, Picasso, and Francis Bacon. He is best known for his portraits of royalty.

Contributions Goya was a part of the Romanticism movement. Romanticism: embodied in visual arts, music, and literature. It had a major impact on historiography, education, and natural sciences. The romantic period came about after the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment.

Carlos IV of Spain and His Family 1800 This painting depicts the life-size members of Carlos IV’s family. Goya can be found in the far left behind the royal family.

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters 1797 This pictures shows Goya with his head in his arms, deeply distressed while owls and bats surround him. Owls are symbolic for folly and bats are symbolic for ignorance. Many thought this etching portrayed Goya’s commitment to the creative process and the Romantic spirit.

The Milkmaid of Bordeaux 1827 There has been some debate with historians on whether or not this is an actual Goya painting. If it is a Goya, it would most likely be a portrait of Leocadia Weiss, Goya’s nurse.

Fernando Botero Born on April 19, 1932, in Medellín, Antioquia. He currently is eighty years old.

Facts about Fernando Botero His father died when he was just four years old. His uncle became the father figure after his dad’s passing. He was sent to a school for matadors for two years. He was convicted in 1966 of a financial offense and served thirty months in prison. His son, Pedro, was killed in a car accident in 1979.

Styles In Botero’s paintings, he mainly focuses on women, men, daily life, historical events, still-life, animals, and the natural world. His works feature a figurative style called “Boterismo”. He is called the “most Colombian of Colombian artists”. He was influenced by the Baroque style of the colonial churches and the rich life of the city.

Contributions He was a part of the Abstract Expressionism movement. Abstract Expressionism movement: the use of a visual language of form, color and line, to create a composition that is independent from the outside world. This movement took place in the 1940s.

Dancers 1987 Botero was known for his numerous paintings of “fat” figures. In this picture, two people come together for a final dance.

Mona Lisa 1978 Originally, Botero did not set out to paint a young Mona Lisa. He had painted a young Colombian girl and a neighbor of his mistook it for Mona Lisa.

Card Players 1996 Once again, Botero painted a picture of larger men. In the lower right hand corner one of the men has a card hidden beneath him.