Werner Mathias Goeritz Brunner (4 April 1915, Danzig,

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

– 4 August 1990,

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

) was a Mexican painter and sculptor of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

origin. After spending much of the 1940s in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and Spain, he and his wife, photographer Marianne Gast, immigrated to Mexico in 1949. Patioeleco

Early life and education

Mathias Goeritz was born in Danzig,

in 1915 and spent his childhood in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. He began studying philosophy and the history of art at Berlin's Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universität, now known as the

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

, in 1934.''Mathias Goeritz 1915-1990: El Eco: Bilder, Skulpturen, Modelle'', ed. Christian Schneegass (Berlin: Akademie der Künste, 1992), 465. He received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

from this institution in 1940. His doctoral dissertation on the nineteenth-century German painter Ferdinand von Rayski was published as ''Ferdinand Von Rayski und die Kunst des Neunzehnten Jahrhunderts''. During the course of his studies, Goeritz also trained as an artist at the Kunstgewerbe- und Handwerkerschule in Berlin-Charlottenberg (Applied arts and tradesmen's school), where he studied drawing with German artists Max Kaus and Hans Orlowski.

Career

Upon completion of his doctorate, Goeritz worked at Berlin's Nationalgalerie (National Gallery), now the

Alte Nationalgalerie The Alte Nationalgalerie ( ''Old National Gallery'') is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin, Germany. The gallery was built from 1862 to 1876 by the order of King Frederick William IV of Prussia according to pl ...

, under the supervision of nineteenth-century art specialist

Paul Ortwin Rave Paul Ortwin Rave (10 July 1893, Elberfeld – 16 May 1962, Idar-Oberstein), was a German art historian and director of the Berlin National Gallery. Rave was the son of a pharmacist. From 1918, after participating in the First World War, he stud ...

. In early 1941, in the midst of 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 ...

, Goeritz left Germany, settling first in Tetuan,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

. In 1942 he married photographer Marianne Gast, and the couple settled in

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

, Spain, just after the war ended in 1945.Olivia Zúñiga, ''Mathias Goeritz'' (México, D.F.: Editorial Intercontinental, 1963), 15. In June 1946, he had his first solo exhibition at the Librería-Galería Clan in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

under the pseudonym "Ma-Gó". in 1947 the Goeritzs relocated to Madrid. There, Goeritz developed a close friendship with Spanish sculptor

Ángel Ferrant Ángel Ferrant Vázquez (Madrid 1890 – 1961) was an avant-garde Spanish sculptor associated with surrealism and kinetic art. Biography and works Son of the painter Alejandro Ferrant, he studied sculpture at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios i ...

In the summer of 1948, Goeritz and Ferrant traveled to visit the prehistoric paintings of the

Cave of Altamira The Cave of Altamira (; es, Cueva de Altamira ) is a cave complex, located near the historic town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria, Spain. It is renowned for prehistoric cave art featuring charcoal drawings and polychrome paintings of contem ...

in the north of Spain, along with writer Ricardo Gullón and others. At that time Goeritz proposed the founding of an Escuela de Altamira (Altamira School), an association of artists and writers who would meet annually near the Cave, in 1948. The Escuela de Altamira would ultimately hold two meetings, in 1949 and 1950.''Primera Semana de Arte en Santillana del Mar: del 19 al 25 de septiembre, 1949'' (Santander: Escuela de Altamira, 1950), and ''Segunda Semana de Arte en Santillana del Mar: del 20 al 26 de septiembre, 1950'' (Santander: Escuela de Altamira, 1951). In 1949, Through the intervention of Mexican architect

Ignacio Díaz Morales Ignacio is a male Spanish and Galician name originating either from the Roman family name Egnatius, meaning born from the fire, of Etruscan origin, or from the Latin name "Ignatius" from the word "Ignis" meaning "fire". This was the name of sev ...

, Goeritz was offered a job teaching art history to the students of the newly founded Escuela de Arquitectura in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

, Mexico,. In 1953 he first presented his "Manifiesto de la Arquitectura Emocional" (Emotional Architecture Manifesto) at the pre-inauguration of the

Museo Experimental El Eco The Museo Experimental El Eco is a contemporary art gallery in the centre of Mexico City, Mexico. It was designed by sculptor Mathias Goeritz, a Mexican artist of German origin who worked closely with the Mexican architect Luis Barragán.

, which he designed in 1952–53. During the 1950s, Goeritz also collaborated with Luis Barragán to make monumental abstract sculptures in reinforced concrete, including ''El animal del Pedregal'' (The Animal of the Pedregal, 1951) and the ''Torres de la

Ciudad Satélite Ciudad Satélite (), commonly known as Satélite, is a Greater Mexico City upper middle class suburban area located in Naucalpan, State of Mexico. Officially, the name corresponds exclusively to the homonym neighborhood, Ciudad Satélite, fou ...

'' (Towers of Satellite City, 1957).

Personal life and death

In 1942 he married photographer Marianne Gast. He died in Mexico City on August 4, 1990.

Works and legacy

Goeritz exhibited widely in Mexico and beyond throughout his life, and had a significant influence on younger Mexican artists such as

Helen Escobedo Helen "Elena" Escobedo (July 28, 1934 – September 16, 2010) was a Mexican sculptor and installation artist who has had work displayed all over the world from Mexico, Latin America, the United States, and Canada to the United Kingdom, (Germany) ...

and Pedro Friedeberg. * ''El animal del Pedregal'' (The Animal of Pedregal, 1951), sculpture in reinforced concrete, Jardines de Pedregal de San Ángel, Mexico City. * ''Los amantes'' (The Lovers), sculpture at the Hotel Presidente, Acapulco. * ''El bailarín'' (The Dancer). * ''La mano divina'' (The Divine Hand) and ''La mano codiciosa'' (The Covetous Hand), reliefs in the Iglesia de San Lorenzo, Mexico City. * El Eco Museo Experimental ("El Eco" Experimental Museum, 1953), Mexico City. * ''El Pájaro Amarillo'' (The Yellow Bird, 1957) Colonia Jardines del Bosque, Guadalajara. * Torres de la Ciudad Satélite (Towers of Satellite City, 1957) with Luis Barragán. * Stained Glass windows for the cathedrals of Mexico City and

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 ...

, the churches of Santiago Tlatelolco and

Azcapotzalco Azcapotzalco ( nci, Āzcapōtzalco , , from '' āzcapōtzalli'' “anthill” + '' -co'' “place”; literally, “In the place of the anthills”) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern ...

, and the Maguén-David synagogue, Mexico City. * Coordination of the sculptures of the Ruta de la Amistad (Route of Friendship), a major project of the Cultural Program of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. * ''Osa Mayor'' (Ursa Major, 1968), Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City. * ''Torres de Automex'' (Automex Towers, 1963–64), Carretera de Toluca. * ''Pirámide de Mixcoac'' (Mixcoac Pyramid, 1971), Mexico City. * Murals for the

Arco Tower ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States and ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States, 1970. * ''Corona de Bambi'' and '' Espacio Escultórico'' (Sculpture Space, 1979), Ciudad Universitaria,

UNAM 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 bigge ...

, Mexico City. * ''Laberinto de Jerusalén'' (Jerusalem Labyrinth), 1978-1980. *Massive bronze entry door for the John Lautner-designed residence "Marbrisa", Acapulco, 1973

References

External links

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goeritz, Mathias 1915 births 1990 deaths Artists from Gdańsk Artists from Berlin 20th-century Mexican painters 20th-century German male artists Mexican male painters Mexican sculptors Male sculptors German emigrants to Mexico Artists from Guadalajara, Jalisco People from West Prussia 20th-century German sculptors German male sculptors 20th-century Mexican male artists