Jesús Fructuoso Contreras Chávez (January 20, 1866 – July 13, 1902) was a Mexican sculptor. He has been called the most "representative sculptor of late 19th century Mexico".

Biography

Jesús Fructuoso Contreras was born in

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...

on 20 January 1866. Contreras received his primary education at Placido Jimenez's school, where he studied drawing. Such was his success that at 14 years, his classmates and teachers supported him to continue his studies at the National School of Fine Arts in Mexico City. At the age of 21, he was given a scholarship by the government to study in Paris. He was a nephew of

José María Chávez Alonso José María Chávez Alonso (26 February 1812, Encarnación de Díaz, Jalisco, Mexico. – 5 April 1864, Mal Paso, Zacatecas) was a Mexican politician. He served as the governor of the state of Aguascalientes from 1862 to 1863. In 1818, he m ...

. Due to the support he received from the government of Porfirio Diaz, he was able to work on various monuments, including twenty bronze sculptures on the Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City. With support from the government of Aguascalientes, Contreras founded the ''Fundición Artística Mexicana'', where some of the sculptures on Paseo de la Reforma were created. While in Paris, his right arm was amputated as a result of ill-attended cancer. He died in Mexico City on 13 July 1902, at age 36.

Legacy

A homage by the Government of Guanajuato City was held in January 2016 to celebrate the 150 year anniversary of Contreras' birth. In November 2016, the '' Patio de Jesús F. Contreras'' was inaugurated in the Historic Center of Aguascalientes City; a public space that includes several of Contreras' works.

Gallery

Image:Monumento Ignacio Zaragoza.jpg, Monument to Ignacio Zaragoza Image:MalgreToutDF.JPG, '' Malgré Tout'' located at the

Museo Nacional de Arte The Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) ( en, National Museum of Art) is the Mexico, Mexican national art museum, located in the Centro (Mexico City), historical center of Mexico City. The museum is housed in a neoclassical building at No. 8 Tacuba, C ...

in Mexico City Image:NezahualcoyotlGardenTADF.JPG, Monument to

Nezahualcoyotl Nezahualcoyotl may refer to: * Nezahualcoyotl (tlatoani), the ruler of Texcoco * Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, a city in the State of Mexico * Nezahualcóyotl metro station, in Mexico City * The Nezahualcóyotl Award, a literary prize in Mexico * Nezah ...

Image:Monumento a la Paz, de Jesús F. Contreras 02.JPG, Monumento a la Paz in Guanajuato, Guanajuato

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Contreras, Jesus Fructuoso 1866 births 1902 deaths Mexican sculptors Male sculptors Artists from Aguascalientes