Jesús Guerrero Galván
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Jesús Guerrero Galván (b. June 1, 1910 – d. May 11. 1973) was a Mexican artist, a member of the Mexican muralism movement of the early 20th century. He began his career in Guadalajara but moved to
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
to work on mural projects in the 1930s for 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 ...
and
Comisión Federal de Electricidad The Comisión Federal de Electricidad ( en, Federal Electricity Commission) is the state-owned electric utility of Mexico, widely known as CFE. It is the country's dominant electric company, and the country's second most powerful state-owned comp ...
In addition, he did easel paintings, with major exhibitions in the United States and Mexico. In 1943, he was an artist-in-residence for the
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
, painting the mural Union of the Americas Joined in Freedom, considered to be one of his major works. Guerrero Galván was accepted as a member of 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

Guerrero Galván was born in
Tonalá, Jalisco Tonalá () is a city and municipality within the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area in the state of Jalisco in Mexico. With a population of 374,258, it is the fourth largest city in the state, the other three being the other major population centres in ...
, in 1910, to a poor farming family of Purépecha origin. At an early age, he showed a talent for drawing and received full support from his family to pursue art, and studied drawing in Guadalajara as a child. He traveled with his mother and sister to the United States just before he turned 15. The family's economic situation was very difficult and the struggle to survive affected his health. He contracted
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
and never fully recovered. Just before his fifteenth birthday, he traveled to the United States with his mother and sister. During his stay, he drew on sidewalks with pieces of charcoal while working at a food stand. One day, a couple was impressed with this work and got him a scholarship to study at the Fine Arts School in San Antonio. When the family returned to Mexico, he entered the Guadalajara workshop of José Vizcarra working there from 1923 to 1924. Vizcarra required his students to copy reproductions of
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...
and Gerardo Murillo and draw perspective s of colonial buildings and nudes. This training influenced his later work and kept admiration for the masters of the Renaissance through is life. He also respected and admired
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...
n culture and art, Mexican portraits of the 19th century, the nationalism of Mexican muralism and the production of Picasso as well. While still in Guadalajara, he discovered the Bohemian Circle, which was one of the precursors of the Mexican muralism movement. Development of alternative schools for artists was also happening as old attitudes about art were being questioned and Guerrero Galván finished his schooling at one of them, the Escuela Libre de Pintura in Guadalajara. His talent was evident even in his early 20s, and prompted his membership in the Banderas de Provincia (Flags of the Province) group, which consisted of painters, poets and writers such as
Raúl Anguiano José Raúl Anguiano Valadez (February 26, 1915 – January 13, 2006) was a notable Mexican painter of the 20th century, part of the “second generation” of Mexican muralists which continued the tradition of Diego Rivera, José Clemente Or ...
, José Guadalupe Zuno, Enrique Martínez Ulloa and Agustín Yañez . He also founded group called T.A.P (Alliance of Fine Arts Workers), along with Anguiano. Later in life, he joined the
Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios The Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios (LEAR; League of Revolutionary Writers and Artists) was a Mexican association of revolutionary artists and writers. It was established in the house of its first president Leopoldo Méndez in 1933 fr ...
and the Cultural Missions of President Lazaro Cárdenas . During his life, Guerrero Galván was politically active, like many other artists of the Mexican muralism movement. He was a candidate for the Popular Party and later became a member of the
Mexican Communist Party The Mexican Communist Party ( es, Partido Comunista Mexicano, PCM) was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1917 as the Socialist Workers' Party (, PSO) by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian revolutionary. The PSO changed its name ...
, remaining so until his death. For his work, he received an invitation to spend a year in the
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, where he received treatment for complications of tuberculosis. When he returned to Mexico from Russia, he learned of the imprisonment of Siqueiros. In response he went on a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
, which affected his health. In his later life, he battled continued health problems along with problems with alcohol. For this reason, he, his wife Dabaki Garro, and five children moved to
Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; nci-IPA, Cuauhnāhuac, kʷawˈnaːwak "near the woods", ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. The city is located around a 90-minute drive south of Mexico City using the Federal Highway 95D. The na ...
. Here he lived and painted until his death in 1973.


Career

Guerreo Galván began his career in Guadalajara. He was part of a group of artists called the Grupo de la Universidad at the Universidad de Guadalajara in 1925 and he worked on the campus from a studio in the former chapel of the Temple of Santo Tomás. The Universidad group also had as members León Muñoz, José Parras Arias, Manuel Solórzano, Enrique Celis, Leopoldo Bancalari, Rubén Martínez Ramírez and Hans Christensen. At first the group produced impressionist work then changed their style to what they called “poetic neo-realism” with influence from European avant guarde such as cubism and abstract art. In the late 1920s, he painted his first mural at the University of Guadalajara called Fecundidad. In 1932 he organized the group Pintores Jóvenes de Jalisco with Francisco Rodríguez Caracalla, Raúl Anguiano, Antonio Servín and Luis Godínez Fonseca. Later members of the group included Luz Lasso, Rafael Espinoza and María de la O Fernández. The group's first exhibition was at the Regional Museum of Guadalajara. In the early 1930s, Guerrero Galván moved to Mexico City to continue his career as many artists did at the time, attracted by the Mexican muralism movement. He began working on murals here with 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 ...
creating works for schools in the Alamos and Portales neighborhoods of the city. He also painted murals with the Comisión Federal de Electricidad after moving to Mexico City. In 1942, he was invited to be an artist-in-residence at the University of New Mexico in
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
. Here he painted a fresco called Union of the Americas Joined in Freedom, considered to be one of his principle works and also taught a course on Mexican contemporary painting. In 1947, he illustrated a book about Quetzacoatl, written by Ermilo Abreu Gómez. In addition to murals, Guerrero Galván also did easel paintings. His main exhibitions include San Francisco in 1939, his first individual exhibition at the Galería de Arte Mexicano in Mexico City in 1941, exhibitions at 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 ...
in New York and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and a large individual exhibition 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 1952. After his death the
Museo de Arte Moderno The Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art) is located in Chapultepec park, Mexico City, Mexico. The museum is part of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura and provides exhibitions of national and international contemporary a ...
held a retrospect in 1977. In addition to the creation of works, he also taught art, beginning with the Escuela de Arte para Trabajadores in 1936. The then went on to the Academia de Bellas Artes in 1938, then to the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas in 1939, teaching there for twenty five years. He also did work in stage sets and costumes for the
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
. Guerrero Galván was accepted as a member of 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 ...


Artistry

Guerrero Galván was one of the most prolific figurative painters from 20th century Jalisco, part of the Mexican muralism movement. While best known for mural painting, the artist also worked on canvas,
lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
and illustration, noted as a draughtsman and colorist. His important works include Fecundidad en el "Olimpo House", La unión de las Américas bajo la égida de la libertad, La niña, Juárez niño, El retrato de la señora de Macotela, El Sueño, La Danza de los venados, La Tierra and El génesis del Popol Vuh. His style has been characterized as magical realism and poetic, with influences from Italian painting, Jalisco folk art and other aspects of Mexican culture. Elements in his work include eye expressions indicating placidity in his figures, eyes gazing into infinity and the lack of emotion in the lips. Although he was political in his personal life and part of the muralism movement, his artwork did not have a political or social message. Recurring themes in his easel work is the reality of the Mexican child and a woman on her own with a child, depicting a woman as a mother above all. These are often on sparse settings and the children can seem to be in a kind of limbo. He was also noted as a portrait painter, with many of his best featuring women and children.


External links


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galvan, Jesus Guerrero 20th-century Mexican painters Mexican male painters Mexican muralists 1910 births 1973 deaths Latin American artists of indigenous descent 20th-century indigenous painters of the Americas Mexican people of Purépecha descent 20th-century Mexican male artists