Proletarian Mother David Alfaro Siqueiros 1931

Proletarian Mother
David Alfaro Siqueiros 1931
From the collection of
Museo Nacional de Arte
David Alfaro Siqueiros was an outstanding social activist who played an ongoing role in Mexican political life, participating in union movements and, indeed, organizing various strikes and labor confrontations, which led to his arrest in 1930. In Proletarian Mother - which is considered to be one of Mexican arts key works, due to the painters powerful depiction of the abject poverty and misery of the country’s poor and disadvantaged classes during the nineteen thirties- a woman with a green shawl over her head is seated in a small, brick-walled room. Her swarthy, hard-featured face reflecting profound anxiety at the poverty in which she lives, she is surrounded by three small children, two of whom are clinging desperately to her, while the third, at her feet, is reaching out his arms towards her. This work was listed in the catalogue of Siqueiros first one-man show at the Spanish Casino in México City in 1932, which was well received by the critics thanks to its subject matter -namely the artist s depiction of the Mexican people oppressed by a small but growing moneyed class. Moreover, his technique -which consisted in using old jute sacks as a basis for the application of a thick plaster-like layer through which the texture and weave of the fabric could still be seen- was praised. Since Siqueiros wanted this painting to form part of a Mexican museum, in 1951 he sold it to the National Fine Arts Institute for a nominal sum. It entered the MUNAL in 1982 as part of its founding endowment.
Details
Title: Proletarian Mother
Date Created: 1931
painter: David Alfaro Siqueiros
Provenance: Constituve Collection
Physical Dimensions: w1317 x h1920 mm (complete)
Original Spanish object note: David Alfaro Siqueiros fue un destacado activista social que participó constantemente en la vida política del país tomando parte en movimientos sindicales; de hecho, fue el organizador de varias huelgas y enfrentamientos obreros, actos por los cuales fue arrestado en el año 1930. Madre proletaria está considerada una de las piezas claves dentro de la historia del arte mexicano, por la fuerza representativa con la que el artista transmitió la extrema pobreza y miseria en la que se encontraban las clases humildes y desfavorecidas en México durante los años treinta. Esta obra representa una mujer sentada que cubre su cabeza con un rebozo verde; ella se encuentra en una pequeña habitación de ladrillos, su rostro de tez morena y facciones duras trasmite una enorme angustia provocada por la pobreza en la que vive. Tres pequeños niños la rodean, dos de ellos la abrazan con desesperación mientras que el tercero, ubicado a sus pies, la busca con los brazos. Este lienzo se registró en el catálogo de la primera exhibición individual de Siqueiros que se llevó a cabo en el Casino Español de la ciudad de México en 1932, la muestra tuvo buena acogida por la crítica gracias a la temática representada, donde el artista proyectó su percepción del pueblo mexicano oprimido por una clase económica latente y minoritaria. A la vez, fue alabada la técnica que empleó utilizando viejos costales de yute como el soporte de la pieza; sobre este material, el artista aplicó una gruesa capa a manera de preparación similar al yeso que, a pesar de su espesura, deja entrever la textura y el tejido del material. Siqueiros deseaba que esta pintura formara parte de un museo mexicano, por lo que en el año 1951 la vendió en un precio simbólico al Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes; ingresó al MUNAL en 1982 como parte de su acervo constitutivo.
Original title: Madre proletaria
Type: Painting
Rights: Museo Nacional de Arte, INBA, http://www.munal.com.mx/rights.html
Medium: Oil on jute-ixtle fiber

David Alfaro Siqueiros
Dec 29, 1896 - Jan 6, 1974

David Alfaro Siqueiros was a Mexican social realist painter, better known for his large murals in fresco. Along with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, he established "Mexican Muralism." He was a Stalinist and member of the Mexican Communist Party who participated in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Leon Trotsky in May 1940.
His surname would normally be Alfaro by Spanish naming customs; like Picasso and Lorca, Siqueiros used his mother's surname. It was long believed that he was born in Camargo in Chihuahua state, but in 2003 it was proven that he had actually been born in the city of Chihuahua, but grew up in Irapuato, Guanajuato, at least from the age of six. The discovery of his birth certificate in 2003 by a Mexican art curator was announced the following year by art critic Raquel Tibol, who was renowned as the leading authority on Mexican Muralism and who had been a close acquaintance of Siqueiros. Siqueiros changed his given name to "David" after his first wife called him by it in allusion to Michelangelo's David. Another factual confusion is the year of his birth: he was born in 1896, but many sources state 1898 or 1899
http://hisour.com/art-medium/paintings/proletarian-mother-david-alfaro-siqueiros-1931/