María Izquierdo, 1902-1955

Book excerpt: This volume documents the first international retrospective of one of Mexico's greatest artists, Maria Izquierdo. Trained privately, as was common for women of good social standing, she was unusual in also studying at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, where she was first a disciple of Diego Rivera and then developed intellectual bonds with Rufino Tamayo. Her work was included with theirs in a 1930 show of Mexican painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1936, Antonin Artaud visited Mexico seeking "a perfect example of primitive civilizations with a magical spirit", which he found in Izquierdo's paintings.