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Lot Essay
In the early 1940's Siqueiros was once again out of favor with the Mexican government. For almost three years, he was in a state of exile, not welcome in Mexico due to his involvement on the attack of Leon Trotsky. Feared by many Latin American governments as a social agitator he spent this period seeking work and asylum. This period best reflects the real power of Siqueiros as a leader, while he was greeted with unease and suspicion by many, his power was recognized and supported in unusual ways. Although he was denied a visa to enter the United States, as he was a known communist, he received a grant from the United States State Department for an important lecture tour he wanted to conduct "Art for Victory". Already a committed opponent of the Facist movements plaguing Europe, and further disgusted by Nazi support he saw in South America, Siqueiros launched a program to raise awareness and support for the anti-Facist forces through art. Again he used his art as a platform for change and social response, his lectures initiated programs throughout the region.
After completing projects in Chile and Cuba, Siqueiros was allowed to secretly return to Mexico in 1943. As he was not free to be in public, he immediately began working on an important mural in the house in which he was living in hopes that its unveiling would rekindle the scattered and weakened Muralist movement. The revealing of the mural Cuauhtemoc contra el mito was planned to acknowledge Siqueiros return to Mexico. The government did not intervene when flyers announcing the unveiling were sent and interest in the project increased, signaling their tacit acceptance of his move back into public life. The unveiling was a great success and immediately afterwards Siqueiros began issuing manifestos and looking for a public mural project. A public project would not come through until 1945.
Throughout his career, Siqueiros frequently used his easel works as a way to live between commissioned projects. Though these works were most often created for private collections and destined for collectors' walls, they were not free from his political idealogies and aims. The smaller format allowed him in many cases to work out themes and details to be incorporated in his murals. A hallmark of Siqueiros' identifiable style is a cinematic or photographic like closeup, in many of these works he would often crop the borders of the piece like a photographer, zeroing in on the subject and detail. El Revolució nario is such a work. At first glance it is a straightforward portrait of a revolutionary. Upon further observation more information is revealed. Encoded in the strong brushstrokes that form the stern face of the revolutionary is the symbol of the Communist Party; a hammer emerges from the profile encompassing the nose, and the sickle from a swooping movement on the right of the eye. Though often at odds, Siqueiros was a prominent member of the Communist Party of Mexico throughout his life, it follows that he would use even a portrait to send a political message. His paintings, like his murals, are powerful affairs not content to be without strength.
After completing projects in Chile and Cuba, Siqueiros was allowed to secretly return to Mexico in 1943. As he was not free to be in public, he immediately began working on an important mural in the house in which he was living in hopes that its unveiling would rekindle the scattered and weakened Muralist movement. The revealing of the mural Cuauhtemoc contra el mito was planned to acknowledge Siqueiros return to Mexico. The government did not intervene when flyers announcing the unveiling were sent and interest in the project increased, signaling their tacit acceptance of his move back into public life. The unveiling was a great success and immediately afterwards Siqueiros began issuing manifestos and looking for a public mural project. A public project would not come through until 1945.
Throughout his career, Siqueiros frequently used his easel works as a way to live between commissioned projects. Though these works were most often created for private collections and destined for collectors' walls, they were not free from his political idealogies and aims. The smaller format allowed him in many cases to work out themes and details to be incorporated in his murals. A hallmark of Siqueiros' identifiable style is a cinematic or photographic like closeup, in many of these works he would often crop the borders of the piece like a photographer, zeroing in on the subject and detail. El Revolució nario is such a work. At first glance it is a straightforward portrait of a revolutionary. Upon further observation more information is revealed. Encoded in the strong brushstrokes that form the stern face of the revolutionary is the symbol of the Communist Party; a hammer emerges from the profile encompassing the nose, and the sickle from a swooping movement on the right of the eye. Though often at odds, Siqueiros was a prominent member of the Communist Party of Mexico throughout his life, it follows that he would use even a portrait to send a political message. His paintings, like his murals, are powerful affairs not content to be without strength.