Abelardo Ávila Villarreal (Jalpan de Serra, Querétaro, December 17, 1907-Mexico City, July 26, 1967) was a Mexican engraver of the

Costumbrista ''Costumbrismo'' (in Catalan: ''costumisme''; sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival form costumbrist) is Literary costumbrismo, the literary or pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, primari ...

work, notably with Sociedad Mexicana de Grabadores. He also one mural along with Pedro Rendón at the Abelardo L. Rodríguez market 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 ...

. Disciple of Francisco Díaz de León and Carlos Alvarado Lang.

Biography

Ávila was born in 1907 in Jalpan de Serra,

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

. From 1921 to 1926 he studied painting at the Academia de Bellas Artes in the city of Querétaro. After receiving a scholarship, he continued studying at the Academia Nacional de Artes Plásticas in Mexico City. In 1929, with an interest in woodcut, he entered a third school called the Taller de Grabado, de Madera y Metal.

Artistic career

In 1934, he joined the fine arts workshop of the Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios. That same year, he painted a mural "''Los problemas del obrero''" (The worker's problems), in collaboration with painter Pedro Rendón, a disciple of

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

, at the Abelardo L. Rodríguez market in Mexico City. He also participated, under the supervision of Rivera, in the creation of murals such as "''Los mercados''" (the markest) by Ángel Bracho, "''Influencia de las vitaminas''" (influence of the vitamins) by Antonio Pujol; and "''Los alimentos'' y ''Escenas populares''" by Ramón Alva Guadarrama. In 1938, Abelardo Ávila was a student at the recently inaugurated "Escuela de Artes del Libro", where he learned from the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

master Koloman Sokol. Ávila was prevented by the Ministry of Public Education from working as a drawing teacher, so he obtained a job as an inspector of chicken stores in the city, a job he carried out for 25 years. From there he obtained the nickname ''El Pollero'', with which he was known. In 1947 he was one of the founding members of the Sociedad Mexicana de Grabadores, with which he did most of his artistic work. He also gave classes at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" from this time until his death. He was also a founding member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. The themes of his work were mostly Costumbrista which gave him a reputation as a historian. Ávila is recognized as one of the great Mexican exponents of engraving. During his lifetime, he exhibited in places such as the Art Institute of Chicago (1939), the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York (1946), the Ministry of National Education in Buenos Aires (1949) and the Galliera Museum in Paris (1958). ). In 1968, he was recognized at the

Palacio de Bellas Artes The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. It hosts performing arts events, literature events and plastic arts galleries and exhibitions (including important permanent Mexican murals). "Bella ...

as part of the Salón Nacional de Pintura y Grabado. He died at age fifty nine of a heart attack on July 24, 1967, in Mexico City, leaving behind his wife, artist Cecilia Bustamante.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abelardo Avila 1907 births 1967 deaths Academic staff of Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" 20th-century Mexican engravers