"Personaje en Un Cueva" (Personage in a Cave) Surrealist Lithograph by Rufino Tamayo

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"Personaje en un Cueva" (Personage in a Cave) Surrealist Lithograph by Rufino Tamayo (b. 1899 d. 1991.)

Abstract figurative lithograph … Read more "Personaje en un Cueva" (Personage in a Cave) Surrealist Lithograph by Rufino Tamayo (b. 1899 d. 1991.)

Abstract figurative lithograph featuring a textured background and bold figure. The figure is executed and dark black linework with some magenta coloring and cloaked in a deep teal outline. The figure stands to the left of the composition, creating an interesting imbalance. The background is dominated by warm orange tones and a continuation of the deep teal from the outline.

Signed in bottom left "Tamayo '64" and numbered on right side "1/20 R Tamayo"
This print is the first from a limited run. Shows signs of fading in color, as other versions are much brighter and feature more red hues. Small black smudge to linen lower center minimalized.

Rufino Tamayo was an Zapotec-Mexican painter primarily known for his figurative paintings which were heavily influenced by abstract expressionism and surrealism. Tamayo was born in Oaxaca de Juarez, Mexico in 1899. His father was a shoemaker and his mother worked as a seamstress. After his mother’s death when he was twelve years old, he moved to Mexico City and worked with his aunt at the city’s fruit markets. In 1917 he was enrolled by his aunt in Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas at San Carlos. He later studied at the Academy of Art at San Carlos. During his time as a student he was exposed to popular art movements such as cubism and fauvism. After leaving his studies he worked with Jose Vasconcelos at the Department of Ethnographic Drawings. During this time he began to cultivate his art style, aiming to create art he felt represented his Mexican roots and which was not heavily influenced by the politics at the time; as was the case for many of his contemporaries. Dissatisfied with his career in Mexico, Tamayo moved to New York City in 1926. In New York City, Tamayo continued to work and develop his style, most notably his graphic prints which employed lithography, woodblock, and etching, and were often dominated by bold but minimal color palettes. In 1959, he moved back to Mexico with his wife and continued to work there until his death in 1991. Tamayo enjoyed success and popularity during his lifetime, the Tamayo Contemporary Art Museum in Mexico City opened in 1981 and holds many of his paintings as well as others he and his wife collected throughout their lifetime. His work has been displayed across the world, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the Naples Museum of Art, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid. See less