Saturnino Herrán Guinchard (9 July 1887 – 8 October 1918) was a Mexican
painter
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
influential to Latin culture in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Biography
Saturnino Herrán was raised in
Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...
, a city in North-Central Mexico ingrained with Spanish culture. His father owned "the only bookstore in the city" and was a professor of bookkeeping at The Academy of Science".
At the age of ten, he was exceptional in drawing, painting, and
draftsmanship. In 1903, when he was sixteen, his father died. Two years later, the family moved 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 ...
where he studied painting further and began to teach.
At 25 years old, he met Rosario Arellano, his future wife, who occasionally acted as a figure model for pieces like ''Mujer en Tehuantepec'' (1914). At the height of his career in 1914, they were married. There is little that is known about their marriage other than it appeared to be "congruent" and "enlightened". Together they had one son, José Francisco.
Herrán completed majestic paintings of Mexican Indigenous people, giving them heroic strength, beauty, and dignity. In 1910, he participated in the exhibition commemorating the Centennial Anniversary of
Mexico's Independence. A desire to be a
mural painter appeared during his career, and in 1911 he completed commissioned large-scale, mural-like paintings.
Herrán died suddenly 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 ...
on 8 October 1918, at the age of 31, "from a gastric complication".
Early career
In 1901 Herrán began taking drawing lessons at the
Aguascalientes Academy of Science where his father worked. José Inés Tovilla and Severo Amador helped teach him both drawing and painting. In 1903, his father died. He and his mother moved to Mexico City, where he worked at a telegraph office to support her and took classes from Julio Ruelas at the
Academy of San Carlos
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the ...
.
He then studied draughtsmanship under Antonio Fabres, a Catalan painter and color under Mexican colorist Germán Gedovius. His work was highly inspired by European theories of modern art including
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
aesthetics and a high degree of
naturalism. He was an "outstanding student" receiving "honorable mentions" in multiple courses. Herrán immersed himself in Mexican art, mixing that with his training in academic European technique, for he saw art as a spiritual experience.
His first paintings displayed figures as allegories of nature and included Spanish mythology and scenes of everyday people at work who were either exhausted or optimistic. By 1908 he gained success and recognition within the artistic community and began winning awards on top of scholarships. In 1909 he became a professor drawing at the
National Institute of Fine Arts, where his pupils were
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 ...
and
Roberto Montenegro
Roberto Montenegro Nervo (February 19, 1885, in Guadalajara – October 13, 1968, in Mexico City) was a painter, muralist and illustrator, who was one of the first to be involved in the Mexican muralism movement after the Mexican Revolution. His ...
. In 1910, he turned down a scholarship to study in Europe and took a job as a draftsman in the Department for the Inspection of Archeological Monuments.
1910 launched Herrán into greater success when he participated in the
Centennial Anniversary of Mexico's Independence. With fellow artist
Jose Orozco, he formed the Society of Mexican Painters and Sculptors and staged a counter-exhibition to the Centennial Anniversary that included art that was purely Mexican. It included his triptych ''The Legend of the Volcanoes.'' Herrán's pieces were associated with the work of
Velázquez
Velázquez, also Velazquez, Velásquez or Velasquez (, ), is a surname from Spain. It is a patronymic name, meaning "son of Velasco".
References to "Velazquez" without a first name are often to the Spanish painter, Diego Velázquez.
Notable peo ...
and
José de Rivera, with his own influence from
Catalan modernism
''Modernisme'' (, Catalan for "modernism"), also known as Catalan modernism and Catalan art nouveau, is the historiographic denomination given to an art and literature movement associated with the search of a new entitlement of Catalan cultu ...
. The exhibition was so popular that the entrance had to be controlled by police. This exhibition made an impression on
José Vasconcelos
José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexicans, Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial pers ...
, the future Secretary of Education of Mexico after it was revolutionized. After seeing the exhibition, he commissioned Herrán to do a large-scale mural in the School of Arts and Crafts in 1911.
Mexican modernism
On top of being a professor, Herrán was an activist for modern art, a muralist, book illustrator, draughtsman, and
stained glass
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
colorist. While his work had influence from Mexico, Spain, and Catalan it did not fully break away from the traditional European style he was trained to paint in. Herrán, being of mixed descent himself, recognized the multitude of races Mexico embodied, and painted people in natural habitats, capturing their strength, dignity, and inherent beauty. This realization was a part of a movement called 'indigenismo'-a movement that called for social elevation, for a developed personal identity that is inextricably linked to a plethora of Latin races. His generation marked him as one of the painters that "embodied the nations soul".
''The Offering'' (1913) exemplifies Mexican modernism with its allegorical allusion to life's journey. It displays a punt boat in a canal filled with
zempasúchitl flowers, a marigold that is traditionally associated with death. Featured are a baby, a youthful man, and an elderly man offering the flowers for the dead. This is a reference to
ofrenda
An ''ofrenda'' (Spanish: "Sacrifice, offering") is the offering placed in a home altar during the annual and traditionally Mexican ''Día de los Muertos'' celebration. An ''ofrenda'', which may be quite large and elaborate, is usually created ...
, a tradition deeply connected to Mexico's
Dia de los Muertos
The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...
, a celebration of ancestry that is said to connect the living to the dead. Each character represents a different stage of life, but they are all following the same end destination and respecting their course. When Herran died, his widowed wife requested ''The Offering'' yet it was taken to the National Fine Arts Institute. Herrán's works gave credence to the "spiritual beauty of the native people of Mexico in exquisite drawings of Indians whose languid silhouettes stand out against freely interpreted backgrounds of
Pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...
sculpture."
See: ''The Shawl'' (1916) and ''Criolla with Mantilla'' (1917–1918).
Later career: muralist
By this time in his career, Saturnino finally became a muralist. "Mural art would be, by definition, revolutionary and Marxist, nationalist and indigenous. In this art, in rather Manichean fashion, the forces of good (those mentioned) confront the forces of evil, represented by Spain,
Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, and the
Conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
es and, in modern times, capitalism"
These ideologies were painted by fellow artists Orozco and Rivera, making them illustrious in the art world. As mentioned above, he went on to create commissioned murals for the School of Arts and Crafts. His works were used as model for future muralists throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
In Herrán's famous triptych ''Our Gods'' (1914-1918), he displayed legendary
Aztec
The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...
goddess
Coatlicue, who, according to legend, gave birth to the sun, moon, stars. It was commissioned for the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City. The mural is sixteen feet tall with multiple panels. Latin and Caucasian races are showcased on both sides, yet it draws the eyes of the viewer in to engage with the center panel, ''Coatlicue Transformed''.
Jesus Christ
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
, God of the early Christians is in the center of the goddess. Hands, hearts, skulls and crosses are displayed along with lilies, which are representative of Christian spirituality. The piece is a fusion of both cultures as all races on both sides are turned worshiping one god-like figure with one Aztec and one European reference to a higher power. Christ and Coatlicue coalesce in "a vivid expression of his theme concerning the mixture of the two races"
''Our Gods'' is arguably Herrán's greatest, most infamous work due to its deep calling to the viewer to accept others, think spiritually, and unify two cultures. It was never fully completed as he worked on it until the day he died. Due to his clear skill with draughtsmanship, some of Herrán's contemporaries criticized his style, calling his paintings "painted drawings" or "effeminate", yet others believe his "superb draftsmanship of the human figure
rovidedthe strength of his best work".
[
]
Legacy
Saturnino paved the way for artists like Orozco and Rivera by creating masterpieces with deep, relatable meaning. Stylistically, he painted his strengths and used well-cultured techniques from years of learning with Spanish, European, and Catalan influence. Herran used free brushwork over his drawings to capture vibrations of light . He blurred certain background colors together to create ambiance. He preferred strong contours, dynamic imagery, and color balanced. "The refinement of Herran's draughtsmanship and use of colour balances the naturalistic imagery in these works combining drawing with watercolour, a technique adapted from Spanish painters such as Néstor de la Torre". Along with integrating well- developed techniques, his work displays a deep knowledge of the human psyche. His art links eminence and dignity to Mexican heritage. It has brought deep meaning to teaching the value of cultural acceptance and gives insight into the brevity of human life for every viewer to relate to.
Major works
* ''The Offering'', 1913
* ''The Orange Seller'', 1913
* ''Mujer en Tehuantepec'' 1914
* ''Nuestros Dioses'', 1916
* ''Woman with the Shawl'' 1916
* ''Mujer con Calabaza'', 1917
* ''Our Gods (Coatlicue Transformed)'', 1918
Gallery
File:Saturnino Herrán - La cosecha, 1909.jpg, ''La Cosecha,'' 1909
File:Saturnino Herrán - The offering - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Offering,'' 1913
File:Saturnino Herran Mujer en Tehuantepec (1914).jpg, ''Mujer en Tehuantepec,'' 1914
File:Saturnino Herrán - Nuestros dioses antiguos,1916.jpg, ''Nuestros Dioses Antiguos,'' 1916
File:Saturnino Herran Flechador.jpg, ''Flechador,'' 1917
File:Saturnino Herrán - Mujer con calabaza, 1917 (195).jpg, ''Mujer con Calabaza,'' 1917
File:Friso central de 'Nuestros dioses' (Coatlicue), de Saturnino Herrán en el Museo Aguascalientes 05c.jpg, ''Our Gods,'' 1918
References
External links
Blog post
Museum of National Art / Museo Nacional de Arte
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herran, Saturnino
People from Aguascalientes City
Mexican genre painters
20th-century Mexican painters
Mexican male painters
1887 births
1918 deaths
Academy of San Carlos alumni
20th-century Mexican male artists