Celia Calderón (1921-1969) was a Mexican artist best known for her

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

work but she was also noted for her oils and

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s. She was a member of the Sociedad Mexicana de Grabadores,

Taller de Gráfica Popular The ''Taller de Gráfica Popular'' (Spanish: "People's Graphic Workshop") is an artist's print collective founded in Mexico in 1937 by artists Leopoldo Méndez, Pablo O'Higgins, and Luis Arenal. The collective was primarily concerned with using ar ...

and the

Salón de la Plástica Mexicana Salón de la Plástica Mexicana (Hall of Mexican Fine Art; ''SPM'') is an institution dedicated to the promotion of Mexican contemporary art. It was established in 1949 to expand the Mexican art market. Its first location was in historic center o ...

Life

Celia Calderon was born in the state of

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

in 1921 to Felix Calderón and Enedina Olvera. In 1942, she entered the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas, where she became romantically involved with one of her professors,

Julio Castellanos Julio Castellanos González (b. Mexico City, October 3, 1905 – d. Mexico City, July 16, 1947) was a Mexican painter and engraver. Biography Castellanos matriculated the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1918, where he studied under Saturni ...

, who also influenced her artistic development. She also studied at the Escuela de las Artes del Libre, learning graphic art under

Francisco Díaz de León Francisco Díaz de León (September 24, 1897 – December 29, 1975) was a Mexican graphic artist, notable for pioneering much of modern Mexican graphic arts. He spent his childhood around books and when he studied art in Mexico City, he specializ ...

. In 1950 she received a scholarship from the British Council to study at the Slate School of Fine Art in London. In 1957, she was invited by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

government to travel to China and study at the Beijing Artists’ Center where she also exhibited her work. Her last residence was General Molinos del Campo No. 53 in

Tacubaya Tacubaya is a working-class area of west-central Mexico City, in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo, consisting of the '' colonia'' Tacubaya proper and adjacent areas in other colonias, with San Miguel Chapultepec sección II, Observatorio, Daniel Ga ...

. She committed suicide on October 9, 1969, shooting herself in the head at the

Academy of San Carlos The Academy of San Carlos ( es, Academia de San Carlos) is located at 22 Academia Street in just northeast of the main plaza of Mexico City. It was the first major art academy and the first art museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1781 as th ...

Career

Calderón began her career teaching at the Academy of San Carlos in 1946 due to her impressive watercolor skills. She continued teaching throughout her career including various generations of artists at the Sociedad para el Impulso de las Artes and the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. She had her first individual exhibition in 1951, and during her lifetime, her work was presented in venues in Mexico, the United States, Canada, South America and various European countries. In 1947, she was invited to join the Sociedad Mexicana de Grabadores and in 1952, the

. She was also a founding member of the

. In 1955 she won the Salón de Otoño of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana.

Artistry

She is best known for her graphic work although she also produced important oils and watercolors. She also worked with xylography, metal and linoleum etching and intaglio. Her watercolor work was praised by art critic

Justino Fernández Justino Fernández García (September 28, 1904 – December 12, 1972) was a researcher, historian and art critic who is particularly known for his work documenting and critiquing Mexican art of the 20th century. Fernandez studied and developed his ...

, considered the father of Mexican art history. Her imagery mostly consisted of popular personages with her graphic work focusing on Mexican heroes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calderon, Celia 1921 births 1969 deaths Mexican engravers Mexican watercolourists Mexican women painters Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art 20th-century Mexican painters 20th-century Mexican women artists Women watercolorists Women engravers 1969 suicides Suicides by firearm in Mexico 20th-century engravers