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Lot Essay
There has long been a tradition of child portraiture in Mexico. In the 19th Century it became fashionable to record children as a sentimental keepsake rather than documentation of lineage or race. As Mexican society broadened the necessity for works like the castas became less relevant. In the 19th Century, children were a natural status symbol, their growth and health a testament to a family's success and necessary for establishing powerful alliances. Parents commissioned portraits of their children, immortalizing them in a carefree and romantic world. The tradition was not limited to painting children in a rarefied interior or dress clothes. Like the North American folk tradition of the 18th and 19th Centuries, anonymous painters similarly traveled the country executing simplistic portraits of children. With their great interest and tradition of rich family life it is no surprise that children have remained popular subjects of portraiture in Mexican Art.
Among his peers, Diego Rivera is particularly known for his portraits of children. It is a theme he evidently enjoyed. Children are present not only in his great murals but also throughout his entire prodigious career of easel painting. Frequently, the pieces have an element of social commentary, of vendor children in the streets or in working in cane fields. Here, the realities of life are minimized. Rivera's portraits of children communicate not only the innocence of youth he wished to capture but are also a testament to his enjoyment of the subject.
The Retrato de la niña de Dolores Reachi is a jewel among the child portraits painted by Rivera. Executed in 1949, during his most active portraiture period, this piece epitomizes his ease with the theme. A direct and personal relationship is established between the sitter and viewer. The pretty child has been removed from any background ornament and is caught as she was at that moment. She is dressed in a typical Mexican dress, neither pretentiously elegant, nor stiff. Her dark hair is styled in tight knots with shiny bows, a white lace edged Sunday dress offsets her luminous skin. She folds her arms in mock contempt as if to indicate that she has been sitting far too long- or possibly even to question Rivera himself. Rivera expertly captures a false seriousness that has been fixed for the portrait- a portrait face, but below it is a smile or giggle restrained from escaping. Her large eyes belie this struggle, as if reaching out to tell the truth.
Surprisingly, a photograph was taken of Rivera, the child and her mother during one of the sittings for the portrait. The little girl is perched on the arm of a chair, leaning a bit on her mother yet staring intently at the artist. The mother looks to the photographer while Rivera and child remain concentrated upon each other. Rivera, known as a great seducer, is caught in the act of seducing a child with his powerful mix of humor and larger than life personality. It is this seduction that allows Rivera to get to the heart of this child, to know her intelligent, questioning nature and to capture this on the canvas.
Among his peers, Diego Rivera is particularly known for his portraits of children. It is a theme he evidently enjoyed. Children are present not only in his great murals but also throughout his entire prodigious career of easel painting. Frequently, the pieces have an element of social commentary, of vendor children in the streets or in working in cane fields. Here, the realities of life are minimized. Rivera's portraits of children communicate not only the innocence of youth he wished to capture but are also a testament to his enjoyment of the subject.
The Retrato de la niña de Dolores Reachi is a jewel among the child portraits painted by Rivera. Executed in 1949, during his most active portraiture period, this piece epitomizes his ease with the theme. A direct and personal relationship is established between the sitter and viewer. The pretty child has been removed from any background ornament and is caught as she was at that moment. She is dressed in a typical Mexican dress, neither pretentiously elegant, nor stiff. Her dark hair is styled in tight knots with shiny bows, a white lace edged Sunday dress offsets her luminous skin. She folds her arms in mock contempt as if to indicate that she has been sitting far too long- or possibly even to question Rivera himself. Rivera expertly captures a false seriousness that has been fixed for the portrait- a portrait face, but below it is a smile or giggle restrained from escaping. Her large eyes belie this struggle, as if reaching out to tell the truth.
Surprisingly, a photograph was taken of Rivera, the child and her mother during one of the sittings for the portrait. The little girl is perched on the arm of a chair, leaning a bit on her mother yet staring intently at the artist. The mother looks to the photographer while Rivera and child remain concentrated upon each other. Rivera, known as a great seducer, is caught in the act of seducing a child with his powerful mix of humor and larger than life personality. It is this seduction that allows Rivera to get to the heart of this child, to know her intelligent, questioning nature and to capture this on the canvas.