Ángel Zárraga (y) Argüelles (August 16, 1886 in

Victoria de Durango Durango (, ) is the capital and largest city of the northern Mexican state of Durango and the seat of the municipality of Durango. It has a population of 616,068 as of the 2020 census with 688,697 living in the municipality. The city's officia ...

– September 22, 1946) was a Mexican painter. He was a founding member of the cultural organization '' El Ateneo de la Juventud''. His work was part of the art competitions at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

and the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

Biography

Zárraga was born the son of the physician Dr. Fernando Zárraga and his wife Guadalupe Argüelles in the ''Barrio de Analco'' of Durango. While attending the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, he made his first contacts with the prevailing artistic and intellectual scene, and later studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes (ENBA). His family made possible for him a study trip to Europe in 1904, where he visited and exhibited in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He also visited courses at

the Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (RASAB) is a non-governmental association that promotes and organises science and the arts in Belgium by coordinating the national and international activities of its constituent academies su ...

. In 1906 he exhibited some of his pictures in the

Museo del Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of Art of Europe, European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th ce ...

, and in 1907 in an exhibition of the ENBA. He participated in the 1909

Biennale di Venezia The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Architecture Biennale (), which are held in alternating ye ...

and exhibited in the Salon at the Piazzale Donatello,

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. In 1911 he moved to France for good, and he only returned to Mexico once at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

for a short time. From 1914 Zárraga painted in a

Cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

styleLe Bulletin de la vie artistique, Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1 December 1924, pp. 481-484
/ref> and after 1921 his work was influenced by Cézanne and

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto, was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the International Gothic, Gothic and Italian Ren ...

. For example, his 1922 painting '' Girl with Cherry Tart'' exhibits Cubist tendencies. He also painted

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s at the Château de Vert-Cœur and in the

Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris Cité internationale universitaire de Paris () or the Cité universitaire (CIUP or ''Cité U'') is a university campus, a private park and foundation located in Paris, France. Since 1925, it has provided general and public services, including ...

, and decorated the Mexican embassy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He also exhibited at the Salon d'Automne, as well as in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. As a result of the collapse of the international art market he lost his sponsors and became depressed. During

he returned to his home country in 1941, where he painted murals at the ''Club de Banqueros'' and in

Monterrey Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of Monterrey () also Monterrey Cathedral is the main Catholic church and home of the Archdiocese of Monterrey. It is located in the capital of the state of Nuevo León in Mexico. The building has a central na ...

.''Ángel Zárraga y Argüelles''
at ''Biografías y Vidas'' .''Ángel Zárraga''
He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

.''Angel Zárraga , 1886-1946''
Museo Andrés Blaisten. A museum of contemporary art in Durango is named after him.''Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ángel Zárraga''
Ángel Zárraga - The Naked Dancer - 1907-09.jpg, Angel Sarraga. '' The Nude Ballerina'', between 1907 and 1909 Ángel Zárraga - The Woman and the Puppet - 1909.jpg, «Woman and puppet», 1909 Ángel Zárraga - The Gift - Google Art Project.jpg, «In», 1910 Ángel Zárraga - The old man with the Scapular - Google Art Project.jpg, «The old one with the stick» Рамон_Наварро.jpg, Picture of

Ramon Novarro Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican actor. He began his career in American silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box-offic ...

1929 (Óleo sobre lienzo) 1926-circa.-Ángel-Zárraga-La-futbolista-rubia.jpg, «Blonde football player», 1926 Three_players_with_beret._214.3_х_124.5_х.,м._Частное_собрание.jpg, Three players with beret, 1921 Fotabl-feminin.jpg, «Football players», 1922 File:Ángel-Zárraga.-El-sentido-de-la-creación.jpg, «Young football player», 1926

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zarraga, Angel 20th-century Mexican painters Mexican male painters Mexican muralists Artists from Durango People from Durango City 1886 births 1946 deaths Art competitors at the 1932 Summer Olympics Art competitors at the 1928 Summer Olympics 20th-century Mexican male artists