All Images provided by The Philadelphia Museum of Art
Paint the Revolution Will Travel to the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, in 2017.
Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910-1950 is co-organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City.
Optic Parable, 1931, by Manuel Álvarez Bravo (Philadelphia Museum of Art: 125th Anniversary Acquisition. The Lynne and Harold Honickman Gift of the Julien Levy Collection, © Colette Urbajte/Asosciacion Manuel Alvarez Bravo
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19130, (215) 763-8100), in partnership with the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, will present a landmark exhibition that takes a new and long overdue look at an extraordinary moment in the history of Mexican art. Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910-1950 (October 25, 2016–January 6, 2017, Location: Dorrance Special Exhibition Galleries, Philadelphia Museum of Art) will explore the rich and fascinating story of a period of remarkable change. It will be the most comprehensive exhibition of Mexican modernism to be seen in the United States in more than seven decades and will feature an extraordinary range of images, from portable murals and large and small paintings to prints and photographs, books and broadsheets. In this country, Paint the Revolution, will be seen only in Philadelphia before traveling to Mexico City in 2017.
Self-Portrait on the Border Line Between Mexico and the United States, 1932, by Frida Kahlo (Colección Maria y Manuel Reyero, New York) © Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
The Museum’s rich collections of Mexican art have served as the inspiration for Paint the Revolution.T he Museum’s holdings in this field are among the most important in the United States. They range from pre-Columbian sculptures to colonial-era paintings and ceramics and to such twentieth-century masterpieces as Self-Portrait with Popocatépetl (1928) by Dr. Atl, Three Nudes (1930) by Julio Castellanos, Bicycle Race (1938) by Antonio Ruiz, War (1939) by David Alfaro Siqueiros, The Mad Dog (1943) by Rufino Tamayo, and two portable frescoes – Liberation of the Peon and Sugar Cane (both from 1931) – by Diego Rivera. The Museum also houses a significant number of works on paper from this period, including drawings and photographs as well as an extensive collection of prints, many of which were featured in the 2006 exhibition Mexico and Modern Printmaking: A Revolution in the Graphic Arts, 1920 to 1950.
Homage to the Indian Race, 1952, by Rufino Tamayo (Acervo CONACULTA–INBA, Museo de Arte Moderno)
The exhibition takes its title from an essay called “Paint the Revolution” by the American novelist John Dos Passos who traveled to Mexico City in 1926-27 and witnessed the murals created by Diego Rivera that celebrate the ideals of the Mexican Revolution. In order to represent Mexican muralism and share with visitors masterpieces by Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros, the exhibition will present in digital form three important murals created by these three artists—often called los tres grandes (the three great ones)—in Mexico and the United States.
This exhibition is curated by a team of specialists including Matthew Affron, the Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of Modern Art; Mark A. Castro, Project Assistant Curator, European Painting, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Dafne Cruz Porchini, Postdoctoral Researcher, Colegio de México, Mexico City; and Renato González Mello, Director of the Institute for Aesthetic Investigation, National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Barricade, 1931, by José Clemente Orozco (Museum of Modern Art, New York: Given anonymously, 468.1937) © José Clemente Orozco/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/SOMAAP, Mexico
Matthew Affron stated: “Paint the Revolution will touch on all aspects of modern art in Mexico. Though the mural painting tradition remains that country’s best-known contribution to modernism in the visual arts, it is part of a much broader story. Artists were innovating in every possible medium, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, and photography. Their work cut across all classifications, from the epic to the lyric. Visitors to the exhibition will find many surprises.”
Paint the Revolution spans four momentous decades. It will begin by surveying modern art in Mexico City during the revolutionary decade of the 1910s, clearly demonstrating that while many artists engaged with international avant-garde styles, such as Impressionism, Symbolism, and Cubism, they also infused their work with facets of ancient and modern Mexican culture. The exhibition will also explore the artistic experimentation and social idealism of the early post-Revolutionary period, when painters rallied to support the government’s program of national reconstruction and there was growing international recognition of Mexico’s cultural importance. It will also consider the principal avant-garde groups—such as the Stridentists and the Contemporaries—active in Mexico City during this period who pursued alternative directions in post-revolutionary culture, turning away from folkloric and historical subjects and focusing on themes of modern urban life.
The Epic of American Civilization (detail), 1932–34, by José Clemente Orozco (Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College: Commissioned by the Trustees of Dartmouth College), © Jose Clemente Orozco/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/SOMAAP, Mexico City
Mexico City, 1949, by Juan O’Gorman (Acervo CONACULTA–INBA, Museo de Arte Moderno), © Juan O’Gorman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/SOMAAP, Mexico City
In the 1920s and 1930s the development of a vibrant support network and a robust market for modern art in the United States drew Mexican artists northward. The exhibition will follow a number of Mexican painters during their American sojourns, highlighting images with both Mexican and U.S. themes, and focusing on works that dramatized the encounter between south and north, between Hispano- and Anglo-America. Paint the Revolution will conclude with the renewal of socially and politically oriented art in Mexico from the mid-1930s through the aftermath of the Second World War.
Our Lady of Sorrows, 1943, by María Izquierdo (Private Collection, USA)
Timothy Rub, The George D. Widener Director and CEO, Philadelphia Museum of Art, stated: “The contributions of Mexico during this period are central to the development of modern art, and yet its achievements have been largely understood through the work of a small group of great talents, among them Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros, along with Frida Kahlo and Rufino Tamayo. In this exhibition, visitors will be introduced to these artists through the presentation of many of their finest works, but also, and more importantly, to the broader panorama of Mexican art during this period and the historical context in which the visual arts played an enormously important role. We are especially grateful for our partnership with the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, without which it would not be possible to have organized an exhibition of such depth.”
Dance in Tehuantepec, 1928, by Diego Rivera (Clarissa and Edgar Bronfman Jr. Collection) © Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Opened under the name Museum of Fine Arts, on November 29, 1934, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes was the first art museum in Mexico, ie, the first cultural space dedicated to exhibiting art objects for contemplation. In its collection pieces they were included from the sixteenth century to the murals of 1934 Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco, as well as a living Mesoamerican sculpture, another Mexican stamp and Folk Art Museum, which housed the collection of Roberto Montenegro.
In 1947, taking advantage of the creation of the National Institute of Fine Arts, the museographer and culture promoter Fernando Gamboa and painters Julio Castellanos and Julio Prieto modified the project at the National Museum of Fine Arts. In turn he incorporated a wide panorama of Mexican art, a large educational program and a vast plan of publications at different levels promoting national artistic wealth.
Liberation of the Peon, 1931, by Diego Rivera (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Cameron Morris, 1943-46-1) © Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
The vast collection housed in the first half of its history, the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes currently on permanent display 17 murals of seven national artists executed between 1928 and1963, maintains an intense program of temporary exhibitions, as well as a lots of activities for all age groups.
Miguel Fernández Félix, Director of the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, added: “The exhibition will present this fascinating story in unprecedented detail and will benefit from the work of a young generation of scholars who have broken new ground in their research. Together with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which has long been dedicated to the acquisition and display of modern Mexican art, we are pleased to expand the public’s understanding of this important era, including its broader connections to both Europe and the United States. Visitors will witness a spectacular range of work by artists who are well known in Mexico but who will become fresh discoveries for most Americans.”
Peasants, c. 1913, by David Alfaro Siqueiros, 1896 – 1974, Pastel on paper, Museo Nacional de Arte, INBA
Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910-1950 will be accompanied by an exhibition catalogue, published in English and Spanish editions, which offers a comprehensive treatment of Mexican art during four decades that transformed the country’s cultural life and marked its emergence as a widely watched center for modern art. Published jointly by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes (with the English version distributed by Yale University Press), this richly illustrated publication will present full-color reproductions of the works in the exhibition as well as fourteen essays that contain a wealth of new research, by Mexican and U.S. scholars, on mural and easel painting, printmaking, photography, film, and architecture; diverse artists’ groups; and the involvement of the Mexican state in culture during this rich period. It promises to become the text of record for this subject.
Proletarian Hand, 1932, by Leopoldo Méndez (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of Anne d’Harnoncourt in memory of Sarah Carr d’Harnoncourt, 2003-228-1), ©Leopoldo Mendez/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/SOMAAP, Mexico City
The Bank of America is the National Sponsor of Paint the Revolution. Exhibition travel is courtesy of American Airlines. In Philadelphia, the exhibition is made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Women’s Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation, PECO, Christie’s, Bimbo Bakeries USA, The Mexican Society of Philadelphia in honor of Henry Clifford, and The Annenberg Foundation for Major Exhibitions, with additional support from Barbara B. and Theodore R. Aronson, Martha Hamilton Morris and I. Wistar Morris III, G. Theodore and Nancie Burkett, an anonymous donor, and other generous donors.
The accompanying catalog in English and Spanish is made possible by the Mary Street Jenkins Foundation. The English language edition is additionally supported by the Davenport Family Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Fund for Scholarly Publications at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and by Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.
Filed under: Arts & Culture, Culture, Fine Arts, Living/Travel, Museums & Exhibitions, Photography, Social/Life, Travel & Tourism Tagged: Antonio Ruiz,, Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust,, Barbara B. and Theodore R. Aronson, Martha Hamilton Morris and I. Wistar Morris III, G. Theodore and Nancie Burkett,, Cubism, Dafne Cruz Porchini, David Alfaro Siqueiros,, Diego Rivera, Dorrance Special Exhibition Galleries,, Dr. Atl,, Frida Kahlo, Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund., Impressionism, Symbolism,, John Dos Passos, Julio Castellanos, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, María Izquierdo, Mark A. Castro, Mary Street Jenkins Foundation, Matthew Affron, the Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of Modern Art;, Mexican muralism, Miguel Fernández Félix,, Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism 1910-1950, Renato González Mello, Rufino Tamayo,, The Annenberg Foundation for Major Exhibitions,, the Davenport Family Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Fund for Scholarly Publications at the Philadelphia Museum of Art,, the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes,, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Women’s Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation, P, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Stridentists and the Contemporaries