Máximo Pacheco Miranda (1905–1992) was a Mexican painter of

Otomi The Otomi (; ) are an Indigenous people of Mexico inhabiting the central Mexican Plateau (Altiplano) region. The Otomi are an Indigenous people of the Americas who inhabit a discontinuous territory in central Mexico. They are linguistically rel ...

heritage associated with the

Mexican muralism Mexican muralism refers to the art project initially funded by the Mexican government in the immediate wake of the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) to depict visions of Mexico's past, present, and future, transforming the walls of many public buil ...

movement in the post-

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

period of the early 20th century.

Life

Máximo Pacheco Miranda was born into a family with Otomi roots in

Huichapan Huichapan (; Otomi: Nxamädo) is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 668.1 km2. Its name derives from the Classical Nahuatl ''Huēyichiyapan''. In 2020, the mun ...

, Hidalgo, in 1905. After a difficult childhood – his mother died young and his father enrolled as a revolutionary with the forces of

Francisco Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

– he relocated to

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 ...

in 1918 and enrolled in the National School of Fine Arts. There, he began to associate with the artists behind the incipient muralism movement. Pacheco was one of Diego Rivera's assistants on the murals he painted at the offices of the Secretariat of Public Education in central Mexico City between 1923 and 1929 and at the main campus of

Chapingo Autonomous University Universidad Autónoma Chapingo (Chapingo Autonomous University) is an agricultural college located in Texcoco, Mexico State in Mexico. The university is a federally funded public institution of higher education. It offers technical and full b ...

Texcoco, State of Mexico Texcoco de Mora (, Otomi: ) is a city located in the State of Mexico, 25 km northeast of Mexico City. Texcoco de Mora is the municipal seat of the municipality of Texcoco. In the pre-Hispanic era, this was a major Aztec city on the sho ...

, between 1923 and 1927. He also assisted

Fermín Revueltas Fermín or Fermin may refer to: * Fermin, Spanish saint * Fermin (name), Spanish name and surname * Fermin IV, Mexican rapper and pastor See also

* San Fermín (disambiguation), San Fermín {{disambiguation ...

with his murals at the

National Preparatory School The Escuela Nacional Preparatoria () (ENP), the oldest senior High School system in Mexico, belonging to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), opened its doors on February 1, 1868. It was founded by Gabino Barreda, M.D., following ...

in Mexico City. His first independent commission was a series of frescoes at Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Primary School in the

Jardín Balbuena Jardín Balbuena is a neighborhood in Venustiano Carranza, Mexico City, east of the historic center. The neighborhood was developed in the early 1950s and most of its infrastructure was designed by architects Mario Pani and Agustín Landa Verdugo ...

neighbourhood of Mexico City, which opened its doors in 1927. He also painted a fresco for the library of

Secretary of Public Education In Mexico, the Secretariat of Public Education (Spanish language, in Spanish ''Secretaría de Educación Pública'', ''SEP'') is a federal government authority with Cabinet (government), cabinet representation and the responsibility for overseein ...

José Manuel Puig Casauranc José Manuel Puig Casauranc (31 January 1888 – 5 May 1939) was a Mexican politician, diplomat and journalist who served as Secretary of Public Education, Secretary of Industry, Commerce and Labor, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and federal le ...

at his home in

Lomas de Chapultepec Lomas de Chapultepec () is a ''Colonia (Mexico), colonia'', or officially recognized neighborhood, located in the Miguel Hidalgo, D.F., Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City. It dates back to the 1920s, when it was founded with the name Chapultep ...

and, alongside Jesús Guerrero Galván,

Raúl Anguiano José Raúl Anguiano Valadez (February 26, 1915 – January 13, 2006) was a notable Mexican painter of the 20th century, part of the “second generation” of Mexican muralists which continued the tradition of Diego Rivera, José Clemente Or ...

and Roberto Reyes Pérez, a series of murals for the headquarters of the Emiliano Zapata Campesino Confederation in the city of

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

in 1935. Between 1925 and 1950 more than 150 murals painted at public schools were destroyed by the

Secretariat of Public Education In Mexico, the Secretariat of Public Education ( in Spanish ''Secretaría de Educación Pública'', ''SEP'') is a federal government authority with cabinet representation and the responsibility for overseeing the development and implementation o ...

(SEP) and many others have been irreparably damaged; much of Pacheco's work met that fate, and many of his artworks have survived only in photographs taken by

Tina Modotti Tina Modotti (born Assunta Adelaide Luigia Modotti Mondini, August 16/17, 1896 – January 5, 1942) was an Italian American photographer, model, actor, and revolutionary political activist for the Comintern. She left her native Italy in 1913 a ...

. In 1938, acting on medical advice, Pacheco stopped painting and took up teaching in a position awarded to him by the SEP. He died in 1992.

Legacy

A gallery at the Regional Cultural Centre in his home town of Huichapan bears Pacheco Miranda's name.

Notes

References

;Sources * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pacheco, Maximo 1905 births 1992 deaths Mexican muralists Otomi people Mexican artists Mexican painters People from Huichapan