Lot Essay
In 1936 Rufino Tamayo and his wife Olga moved to New York, a city which Tamayo had visited several times since 1929, and where he had been introduced to a wide variety of stylistic and aesthetic options. Rufino and Olga Tamayo stayed in New York throughout most of the 1940's, a time that marked the begining of Tamayo's greatest period of creativity and maturity as a painter.
Tamayo's work from this period is thoroughly narrative. The best known works are his series of feroucious animals and terror stricken human figures fleeing disaster, painted during the war years. However, at the same time that Tamayo was working with subjects inspired by the atrocities of World War II, he also produced many intimate, delightful studies of women. Most of these works present the central figure of a woman at work or play against a richly colored background. Many of the portraits are often set in what appears to be the small interior of a Manhattan apartment, the surrounding buildings visible through an open window. Whether indoors or outdoors, whether the subject is playing a guitar, threading yarn for her spinning wheel or simply sitting in contemplation, the human figure dominates the overall composition. Although certainly influenced by Cubism, the quiet strength of the figures is derived from the powerful images of the great Pre-Columbian cultures of Mexico, a source that is predominant in much of Tamayo's oeuvre.
Tamayo painted many portraits of his wife Olga, most of them straight- forward representations of her image. In the 1945 Retrato de Olga, we see her figure in profile, sitting in a chair, looking up at the ceiling, her hand reaching for her face, apparently deep in thought. The lines of the painting present a harmonious geometric treatment, without being rigid in composition. The soft warm colors combine to present a very touching rendition of a moment in time captured on canvas.
There are two other portraits of Olga worth considering here, one of them is Retrato Dinámico from 1958. In this painting Olga is the central figure, broken up in motion. She is working at a table, her torso and arms are defined by swirling and shifting planes of color, thus transmitting to the observer powerful movements. In the 1964 Retrato de Olga, she appears seated, wrapped in a "rebozo", with her hands resting on her lap. There is a table in the background on which the artist has placed a slice of watermelon, lending the composition a strong Mexican flavor. In contrast, the 1945 portrait has a definite New York feeling, reflected both by the furniture and Olga's attire.
Tamayo was deeply devoted to his wife, he expressed this by anteceding the date of his paintings with the initial O from the time they met. Olga Tamayo, in turn, was of monumental importance in her husband's artistic life. She was a source of inspiration and his most implacable defender and protector, as well as his safe-haven from the world. Tamayo's portraits of Olga express love and admiration for this intelligent woman who was his companion until his death in 1991. The 1945 portrait is a beautiful rendition of Olga at home, in all her strength and vulnerability.
Tamayo's work from this period is thoroughly narrative. The best known works are his series of feroucious animals and terror stricken human figures fleeing disaster, painted during the war years. However, at the same time that Tamayo was working with subjects inspired by the atrocities of World War II, he also produced many intimate, delightful studies of women. Most of these works present the central figure of a woman at work or play against a richly colored background. Many of the portraits are often set in what appears to be the small interior of a Manhattan apartment, the surrounding buildings visible through an open window. Whether indoors or outdoors, whether the subject is playing a guitar, threading yarn for her spinning wheel or simply sitting in contemplation, the human figure dominates the overall composition. Although certainly influenced by Cubism, the quiet strength of the figures is derived from the powerful images of the great Pre-Columbian cultures of Mexico, a source that is predominant in much of Tamayo's oeuvre.
Tamayo painted many portraits of his wife Olga, most of them straight- forward representations of her image. In the 1945 Retrato de Olga, we see her figure in profile, sitting in a chair, looking up at the ceiling, her hand reaching for her face, apparently deep in thought. The lines of the painting present a harmonious geometric treatment, without being rigid in composition. The soft warm colors combine to present a very touching rendition of a moment in time captured on canvas.
There are two other portraits of Olga worth considering here, one of them is Retrato Dinámico from 1958. In this painting Olga is the central figure, broken up in motion. She is working at a table, her torso and arms are defined by swirling and shifting planes of color, thus transmitting to the observer powerful movements. In the 1964 Retrato de Olga, she appears seated, wrapped in a "rebozo", with her hands resting on her lap. There is a table in the background on which the artist has placed a slice of watermelon, lending the composition a strong Mexican flavor. In contrast, the 1945 portrait has a definite New York feeling, reflected both by the furniture and Olga's attire.
Tamayo was deeply devoted to his wife, he expressed this by anteceding the date of his paintings with the initial O from the time they met. Olga Tamayo, in turn, was of monumental importance in her husband's artistic life. She was a source of inspiration and his most implacable defender and protector, as well as his safe-haven from the world. Tamayo's portraits of Olga express love and admiration for this intelligent woman who was his companion until his death in 1991. The 1945 portrait is a beautiful rendition of Olga at home, in all her strength and vulnerability.