Celia Calderón de la Barca (1921–1969) was a Mexican visual artist, known for her

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

work, oil paintings, and

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

s. She was a member of the Sociedad Mexicana de Grabadores, Taller de Gráfica Popular, and the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana.

Life

Celia Calderon was born in the state of

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

in 1921 to Felix Calderón and Enedina Olvera. In 1942, she entered the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas, where she became romantically involved with one of her professors, Julio Castellanos, who also influenced her artistic development. She also studied at the Escuela de las Artes del Libre, learning graphic art under Francisco Díaz de León. In 1950 she received a scholarship from the British Council to study at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London. In 1957, she was invited by the

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government to travel to China and study at the Beijing Artists’ Center where she also exhibited her work. Her last residence was General Molinos del Campo No. 53 in Tacubaya. She committed suicide on October 9, 1969, shooting herself in the head at the Academy of San Carlos.

Career

Calderón began her career teaching at the Academy of San Carlos in 1946 due to her impressive watercolor skills. She continued teaching throughout her career including various generations of artists at the Sociedad para el Impulso de las Artes and the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. She had her first individual exhibition in 1951, and during her lifetime, her work was presented in venues in Mexico, the United States, Canada, South America and various European countries. In 1947, she was invited to join the Sociedad Mexicana de Grabadores and in 1952, the Taller de Gráfica Popular. She was also a founding member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. In 1955 she won the Salón de Otoño of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana.

Artistry

She is best known for her graphic work although she also produced important oils and watercolors. She also worked with xylography, metal and linoleum etching and intaglio. Her watercolor work was praised by art critic Justino Fernández, considered the father of Mexican art history. Her imagery mostly consisted of popular personages with her graphic work focusing on Mexican heroes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calderon, Celia 1921 births 1969 deaths Mexican watercolourists Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art 20th-century Mexican painters Women watercolorists Mexican women engravers 1969 suicides Suicides by firearm in Mexico 20th-century Mexican engravers 20th-century Mexican women painters National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni