Redtree Times

We here in the States are often woefully ignorant of many of the artists from our neighbors in the other Americas, such as those in Canada and Mexico.  Maybe I shouldn’t say “we” because I really can only speak for myself.  My knowledge of Mexican artists was pretty much restricted to what I knew of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, both of  which I admire very much.

This point was driven home recently by stumbling across the work of Alfredo Ramos Martinez, who lived from 1877 until 1946.  He was a painter/muralist who lived and worked in his native Mexico, Paris and California at different points in his life.  He is considered to be the Father of Mexican Modernism and much of his work focuses on the portrayal of traditional Mexican people and scenes.   He has been described as a painter who was able to capture the melancholy and sorrow of the people and places he painted.

I am not going to go into great detail about his work or life today.  I am just throwing out some of his work so that if it interests you, you might look deeper into his life and work.  One thing I will mention is that at the time of his death Martinez was in the midst of a large mural, The Flower Vendors, shown directly below, at Scripps College in Claremont, California.  It remains unfinished but is still a striking and powerful piece of art even without its final details.