Rufino Tamayo

Rufino Tamayo (1899–1991) was a prominent Mexican artist known for his unique fusion of modern European styles with traditional Mexican themes. Born in Oaxaca, Mexico, Tamayo moved to Mexico City after the death of his parents to live with his aunt, who recognised and nurtured his artistic talent.

Tamayo studied at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas, where he developed his distinct approach, diverging from the politically charged murals of his contemporaries to explore more personal and universal themes. He spurned the epithet ‘the fourth great one’, insisting on the philosophic distance between his painterly practice and the strident ideology of Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco. ‘I'm the first of a new modality of Mexican painting that tries to have a universal voice,’ Tamayo proclaimed, supplanting what he felt was the provincial chauvinism of his Mexican contemporaries with a cosmopolitan, universalising pictorial language.

Tamayo’s work is characterised by its vibrant colours, dynamic compositions and incorporation of indigenous Mexican symbols. He gained international acclaim in the 1930s and 1940s, with exhibitions in New York, Paris, and other major cities. His style evolved over the years, blending elements of Cubism, Surrealism, and abstraction with Mexican folk art. This unique combination made Rufino Tamayo paintings stand out in the modern art world.

Tamayo gained a mature command of this modern aesthetic in the early 1940s in New York, producing paintings at the beginning of his great creative period that, as in Trovador (1945), which achieved a world auction record of US$7,209,000 at Christie’s New York in 2008, beautifully bridge the particularised iconography of Mexico with the universal humanism then sweeping the war-torn West. He would return years later as Mexico’s prodigal son, having powerfully and prolifically demonstrated the cogency of this brand of synthetic image-making. But it was during this crucial middle period, spanning the long decade of the 1940s, that Tamayo consolidated his pictorial style, charting an independent course between arte puro and arte social-político.

In addition to his paintings, Tamayo’s legacy is preserved in several institutions dedicated to his work. The Rufino Tamayo Museum Mexico, located in Mexico City, houses a significant collection of his art, showcasing his contributions to modern art and his impact on subsequent generations of artists. The museum also features international contemporary art, reflecting Tamayo’s influence and vision.

Rufino Tamayo’s connection to public spaces is also notable. Rufino Tamayo Park in Mexico City is named in his honour, celebrating his contributions to Mexican culture and his role in bringing Mexican art to a global audience. This park, along with the museum, serves as a testament to his enduring influence in the country’s artistic cannon.