Federico Heraclio Cantú Garza (March 3, 1907 – January 29, 1989) was a
Mexican painter, engraver and sculptor. While considered to be a member of the
Mexican muralism movement, his style was noticeably different, mostly for adhering to older and more academic forms of painting and sculpture. He had his most success exhibiting in the United States and Europe, but he did murals and sculptures in Mexico. His best known work is a sculpture called ''La maternidad'' which was adapted as the logo of the
Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social (IMSS).
Life
![ImagefromAdolfoCantu021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/ImagefromAdolfoCantu021.jpg)
Cantú was born to María Luiza Garza, a novelist, and Adolfo Cantú, a journalist who opposed the
Porfirio Díaz regime. He was born shortly before the
Mexican Revolution and spent his childhood split between
Nuevo León and
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, with the family moving back permanently to Mexico in the 1920s.
He was born on March 3, 1907 in
Monterrey, but later in life, he changed his birth year to 1908 and his birthplace to
Cadereyta Jiménez Cadereyta may refer to:
*Cadereyta de Montes, Querétaro, Mexico
* Cadereyta Jiménez, Nuevo León, Mexico
*Cadereyta Jiménez massacre
The Cadereyta Jiménez massacre occurred on the Fed 40 on 12–13 May 2012. Mexican officials stated that 49 ...
, where his family was originally from.
In 1922, at age 14, Cantú entered the Escuela de Pintura al Aire Libre, which was directed by Alfredo Ramos Martínez
Alfredo Ramos Martínez (November 12, 1871 – November 8, 1946) was a painter, muralist, and educator, who lived and worked in Mexico, Paris, and Los Angeles. Considered by many to be the 'Father of Mexican Modernism', Ramos Martínez is bes ...
.[ He had contact with the growing Mexican muralism movement and briefly studied fresco painting under ]Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
in 1924.[
From 1924 to 1934, he traveled and lived in Europe and the United States.][ He first went to live in Paris on Rue Delambre in ]Montparnasse
Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...
, being only sixteen years old. During his time in Europe he met various artists of the avant garde of the time, including Picasso, Alfonso Reyes, poet César Vallejo
César Abraham Vallejo Mendoza (March 16, 1892 – April 15, 1938) was a Peruvian poet, writer, playwright, and journalist. Although he published only two books of poetry during his lifetime, he is considered one of the great poetic innovators ...
and sculptor Mateo Hernández. He studied with sculptor Jose de Creeft.[ When he lived in Paris, he gathered a collection of drawings called the "Paris Collection" by his son Federico Cantú Fabila , FCF. However, during his time there, he created over two chests of drawings made at Le Grande Chaumière. These chests were lost.]
In 1929, he married his first wife, Luz Fabila Montes de Oca.[
His times in the United States were short periods. He left Europe for Mexico in 1934.][ In the 1930s, he joined a group of painters with the Inés Amor gallery but soon after, established a studio in New York, as friends of his from Montparnasse were there to escape the ]Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
He died on January 29, 1989. His remains are at the foot of his mural ''Dios Padre y crucifixion'' (1959) at the chapel of the Universidad Intercontinental
The Universidad Intercontinental (commonly known as ''UIC''; in English: ''Intercontinental University'') is a private Catholic University, located in Mexico City. Founded in 1976 by Guadalupe Missionaries and being one of the only six Mexican u ...
in Tlalpan.[
]
Career
Cantú's career extended over 65 years and included exhibitions, monumental works, design, illustrations and more.[ From 1924 to 1931 he exhibited his work in the United States and Europe, with his first exhibition occurring at the Exposition Park Museum in ]Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. His first exhibition in Mexico was in 1933 at the Salón de Arte of the Secretaría de Educación Pública
The Mexican Secretariat of Public Education ( in Spanish ''Secretaría de Educación Pública'', ''SEP'') is a federal government authority with cabinet representation and the responsibility for overseeing the development and implementation of ...
. While living in New York, he took part in several collective shows.[ He had much of his success in these two places, with other shows at Tate Gallery in London, the ]Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, the Macy's Gallery and the Perls Gallery in New York.[
He did monumental works such as murals and sculptures, with one of the first a mural with ]Roberto Montenegro
Roberto Montenegro Nervo (February 19, 1885 in Guadalajara – October 13, 1968 in Mexico City) was a painter, muralist and illustrator, who was one of the first to be involved in the Mexican muralism movement after the Mexican Revolution. His m ...
in 1934.[ These works can be found at universities, government buildings and private homes.][ From 1951 to the early 1960s, he devoted most of his time painting murals in private homes, with a number of these since acquired by the government of Nuevo León.][ In the 1950s, he created a mural at the headquarters of the Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social in Mexico City called ''Las Enseñanzas de Quetzalcoatl'' and another called ''Maternidad Yacente''. The first was damaged by the ]1985 Mexico City earthquake
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The event caused serious damage to the Greater Mexico City area ...
, and was repaired by his son, Cantu Fabila and his wife Elsa. In 1958 he sculpted two stone slabs for the exterior of the Unidad Independencia theater in Mexico City. However, the day after they were finished, they were robbed. A similar fate happened to one of the copies of the IMSS emblem.[ He created a low relief called ''El Flechador del sol'' in 1961 on the Sierra Madre along the highway between Linares and Galeana in the municipality of ]Iturbide, Nuevo León
Iturbide is a municipality of Mexico, located in Nuevo León. It has an area of 719.2 square kilometers. It is named in honor of Agustín de Iturbide. It is bordered by the municipality of Galeana on the north and west. Aramberri borders it to ...
. However, this work crumbled in 2002, with recovered pieces now on display at a site museum.[ His last monument was designed in 1988, and was dedicated to Alfonso Reyes.][ One notable mural is ''Los informantes de Sahagún'' at the former monastery of San Diego, which was the site of the Pinacoteca Virreinal in Mexico City. He also created a mural dedicated to Greek myth at the Philosophy and Letters department of the ]Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León
Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to:
Places
* Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico
* Universidad (Madrid)
Football clubs
* Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
...
.[ He also created murals for a church in ]San Miguel Allende
San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the municipality of San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the city lies from Mexico City, 86 km (53 mi) from Quer ...
but they were defaced due to a dispute between the artist the institution over how the characters were portrayed.[
]
One of the murals he did in a private home was that of Benito Coquet, a public official. When he became head of IMSS in 1958, he hired Cantú to make sculptures and designs for the IMSS, Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social. His best known sculpture from this relationship is ''La maternidad'', which is used as the symbol of IMSS. The emblem is also known as "Nuestra Señora de Seguro Social" (Our Lady of Social Security).
In addition to canvas works and monumental pieces, Cantú worked on a number of other projects. In 1945, he began working with Carlos Alvarado Lang, creating burin engraving and dry point.[ He illustrated poems by writer friends such as ]Renato Leduc
Renato Leduc (November 16, 1897 – August 2, 1986) was a Mexican poet and journalist.
Biography
Leduc, son of a French father and a Mexican mother, served as a signalist in Pancho Villa's ''División del Norte'',[Luis Cardoza y Aragón
Luis Cardoza y Aragón (June 21, 1904 - September 4, 1992) was a Guatemalan writer, essayist, poet, art critic, and diplomat. Born in Antigua Guatemala, he spent part of his life living in exile in Mexico.
Cardoza attended primary school in Ant ...]
, Antonin Artaud and Alí Chumacero
Alí Chumacero Lora (9 July 1918 – 22 October 2010) was a Mexican poet, translator, literary critic and editor. He was a member of the Mexican Academy of Language.
Biography
Alí Chumacero Lora was born on July 9, 1918, in Acaponeta, state ...
.[ His first monograph work and book was ''A Matter of Love'' by Mackinley Helm, which Cantú illustrated; both were published in 1946.][ In addition to the work he did for IMSS, other important sculptures include ''Las enseñanzas de Quetzalcóatl'' and ''Las enseñanzas de cura Hidalgo''.][ However, a significant number of his works have been lost for various reasons, especially those done in Europe.][
In addition, Cantú taught both in Mexico and the United States. In the 1940s, he was an instructor at the .][ In 1951 he was a guest lecturer at the ]University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
.[
His work can be found at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, the Basilica de la Purisima in Monterrey NL Letania,] the former monastery of San Diego, the Pinacoteca Virreinal, the Charles Morgan Gallery in New York and Vatican City.[ He has been featured in a number of monographic publications and his work has been covered in books such as ''Cien años a través de cien artistas of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey'' (2000) and ''Arte Nuestro of the Museo Metropolitano de Monterrey'' (2005).][ While alive, he had a retrospective at the ]Palacio de Bellas Artes
The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. It has hosted notable events in music, dance, theatre, opera and literature in Mexico and has held important exhibitions of painting, sculpture and p ...
in 1970,[ and was one of the few to receive homage at the same institution while alive in 1986.][
After his death his work has still been sold and exhibited. In 2005, his painting ''Mujer Desnuda'' sold for 19,000 USD at ]Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
.[ In 2007, the ]Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to:
Places
* Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico
* Universidad (Madrid)
Football clubs
* Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
...
held a large exhibition of his work for the 100th anniversary of his birth.[
]
Artistry
Cantú created 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 ...
s, oils, drawings, inks, prints, monotype
Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The ...
s, sculptures and murals.[ He was admired for the quality of his drawings, which incorporated the people and landscapes of Mexico into his historical and religious works.][
In Europe, he was exposed to the avant garde movements of the time and in Mexico, the dominant form of Mexican muralism. However, Cantú's style was classical and academic, often combining classic myth with modern symbolism.][ This was true even of his mural work, and he was the only major painter at the time doing religious themes.][ This put him at the margins of his Mexican muralist contemporaries.][ He expressed his dissatisfaction with this situation: "Is it fair to discount me as a Mexican, just because my paints do not drip ]mole
Mole (or Molé) may refer to:
Animals
* Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America
* Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
or sweat pulque
Pulque (; nci, metoctli), or octli, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, a rather viscous c ...
?"[ However, he has come to be known as "El gran olvidado" (the great forgotten one).][
He was an avid reader, with literature being a major influence on his work. He was especially fond of 15th-century French poet ]François Villon
François Villon ( Modern French: , ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these ...
, but also read much of the work of Alfonso Reyes, Renato Leduc, Efraín Huerta
Efraín Huerta (June 18, 1914 – February 3, 1982) was a Mexican poet and journalist. Born and raised in the state of Guanajuato, he moved to Mexico City initially to start a career in art. Unable to enter the Academy of San Carlos, he attend ...
, Jean Nicolas, Arthur Rimbaud
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...
, Paul Valéry
Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, mus ...
, Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
, Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
, André Malraux
Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and Minister of Culture (France), minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Go ...
, Antonin Artaud, and Paul Éluard
Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement.
In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...
.[
]
References
External links
NL Nuestro Arte & Grecia en la obra de Federico Cantú -American catalogue by Adolfo Cantú Coleccion de Arte Cantú Y de Teresa
IMSS en la obra de Federico Cantú
*
Deutsche Fotothek
The Deutsche Fotothek () is a picture library in Dresden, Germany, located in the Saxon State Library. It holds more than two million images. Its strengths are in art, architecture, music, geography, technology, the economy, and the Saxony region. ...
* http://www.museoblaisten.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantu Garza, Federico
Mexican engravers
Mexican muralists
Artists from Nuevo León
People from Cadereyta, Nuevo León
1907 births
1989 deaths
20th-century engravers
Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" faculty
20th-century Mexican sculptors
20th-century Mexican painters
Mexican male painters
20th-century Mexican male artists