Viernes de Dolores by María Izquierdo (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Viernes de Dolores
Source: Google Arts and Culture
When it comes to discussions about Mexican art, the name of painter María Izquierdo is often overlooked. Her art was under-appreciated during her own life and continued to be under-appreciated after her death; it is only recently that art historians have begun to recognize and acknowledge the importance of her work.

Izquierdo’s art was uniquely Mexican. She ought to capture the heart and soul of Mexican culture and customs in her paintings, celebrating the lives of Mexico’s ordinary people. She accomplished this through a Modernist, semi-Surrealist style that allowed her to express thoughts, feelings, and ideas without the constraints of Realism.

Viernes de Dolores (which translates to Sorrowful Friday) is one of her most famous paintings and is an excellent example of her commitment to portraying Mexico and Mexican culture. According to my research, the painting depicts an altar created for the commemoration of the seven sorrows of the Virgin, which traditionally takes place on the final Friday of Lent in Mexico. Easter is the most important holiday in the Christian calendar, and in the Catholic faith, the season of Easter and Lent is commonly associated with complex religious rituals and processions.

In Mexico, the faithful traditionally create altars to recognize the sorrows of the Virgin Mary. Izquierdo’s imaginary, painted altar contains offerings of fruit, wheat, and flowers, carefully and reverently displayed. A painting of Our Lady of Sorrows—one of the aspects of the Virgin Mary—looks down upon the offerings. Izquierdo’s bright color palette and unconventional approach to space and depth mark the painting as a modern interpretation of this centuries-old tradition. The subject was obviously deeply inspiring to Izquierdo, and she returned to it many times.

Although Viernes de Dolores is an obviously religious painting, Izquierdo does not approach the subject in particularly pious or reverent way. Rather, she took a Modernist approach to the piece and used it to explore the intensely personal, spiritual energy of devotion. It is an inward looking painting, inviting the viewer to enter a private dialogue with the piece.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges by Henri Matisse (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Image
Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges Source: Pinterest French artist Henri Matisse is rather famous for his paintings of goldfish. In fact, one of his most famous paintings, entitled Goldfish , depicts several of the aforementioned fish swimming in a bowl. Matisse is one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century. His work is closely associated with the Fauvist movement and is generally characterized by great energy and rich, intense colors. Based on my research , Matisse began painting goldfish after he traveled to North Africa. In Morocco, Matisse observed locals watching goldfish swim in their bowls as they sunk into a meditative state. The fish subsequently became a symbol for this sense of tranquility, coming to represent an idyllic version of the world only accessible through joyous day-dreams. These calming fish are prominent in this painting, which is entitled Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges (which translates to The Cat With Red Fishes ). However, the serene energy of the fish
Read more

Mural La Plena by Rafael Tufiño (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Image
Mural la Plena Source: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Today I want to chat about a monumental piece of art that I recently had the pleasure of seeing at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. As the name suggests, Mural La Plena is a massive mural, fifteen by thirty feet in size, that was created by Puerto Rican artist Rafael Tufiño to commemorate la plena, a wildly popular genre of music that was born in the city of Ponce around 1900. The mural, which might appear abstract or incomprehensible to a viewer unfamiliar with the subject matter, illustrates the lyrics of popular plena songs. For example, the blue-green figure that dominates the upper half of the mural represents the hurricane from the plena “Temporal,” which mourns the destruction caused by a storm. Plena, as a genre, tells stories. According to my research , the lyrics come from current events, re-telling the stories that affected the lives of the people of Ponce. It began as a way for people of low socio-economic sta
Read more

Five Puerto Rican Artists You Should Know

-
Image
The island of Puerto Rico has a long and vibrant artistic tradition. Western, Indigenous, and African cultures have all left their mark on Puerto Rican art, creating a colorful and unique visual legacy. While Puerto Rican artists have demonstrated their excellence throughout the years— from the creators of the captivating Taino petroglyphs to the sophisticated and subtle works of the Modernist painters—Puerto Rican art has received little attention from art historians and the wider art world. Here are five underappreciated Puerto Rican artists that you should know: 1. José Campeche José Campeche is often known as the first Puerto Rican painter in the Western history of fine arts. He was primarily known for his religious paintings and his portraits of elite Puerto Ricans, and today his work is recognized as some of the finest examples of Rococo art produced in the Americas. Campeche’s personal story is also inspiring. The son of a slave who had purchased his own freedom, Campech
Read more