Francisco Toledo (b. 1940)

Arte Actual Mexicano, Monterrey
Private Collection, Mexico
Sale: Christie's, New York, Latin American Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture, May 1, 1990, lot 7, illustrated in color

Frankfurt, Schirn Kunsthalle, December 1987-February 1988; Vienna, Messepalast, May-July 1988, Dallas, Dallas Museum of Art, August-October 1988; Imágen de México, no. 334, illustrated in color

This triptych consists of three large wooden panels nailed to supports. There are numerous small restorations throughout the composition that correspond to the nails. These restorations are easily visible to the naked eye, but are not overly distracting. In the left panel, there is a 4 foot long drip running from the top of the panel about 12 inches from the left edge. There are numerous original drips throughout the composition, but this drip does not appear to be original. There are minor losses to the right edge of this panel. In general, the paint layer of this left panel is stable. In the center panel, there are six discolored vertical accretions running through the head of the cat like figure. There are small losses along both sides of this panel. There are some areas of instability on the top half of the right edge. Some of these have been stabilized and restored, while some still remain quite unstable. In the right panel, the top left edge has some areas of instability, some of which have been restored. There is also a small area of instability in the lower left corner of this panel. In general, this work is in fairly good condition. (This condition report has been provided courtesy of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.)
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Francisco Toledo returned to his birthplace of Juchitán, in the region of Oaxaca, in 1965 after spending five years living and studying in Paris. Shortly thereafter, Toledo executed this monumental and complex composition, Sin título, in 1966. Instead of making literal recreations of the myths of his Zapotec heritage and of the legends of his Pre-Columbian predecessors, Toledo is the architect of a new world of the fantastic and spiritual which is rooted in the mystic relationship between the human and natural worlds.

At first glance the composition, grounded in deep tones of earthy reds, browns and watery dark blues seems divided into three distinct scenes by a pair of colorful ladders—a subtle spiritual reference of connecting the human and earthly worlds to that of the gods. On the extreme right, we see the mouth of a monstrous yellow fish holding an egg sack containing a small, human figure while a large toad stealthily climbs its body, an allusion to fecundity and rebirth. In the center, an anthropomorphized cat fiercely leaps with human arms and legs. The cat’s face, with its enlarged grin and mask-like expression, is suggestive of the avatar regularly used by Toledo. To masterfully insert himself into this invented narrative, this cat, which ruptures the center of the composition, Toledo evokes the shamanistic practices of transformation from man to jaguar—the most powerful, feared and supernatural animal in Mesoamerican culture. The left side of the composition presents the most complex and surprising congregation of figures. Fish, crocodiles and humans are continually morphing into each other as they flow in a rotating circle—each a representation of the givers and takers of life— while a male figure, mimicking the Pre-Columbian ceremonial foot jugglers (a difficult performance intended to please the gods), rolls a human figure/mask atop his feet; perhaps this is Toledo appearing again.

The repetitive pattern Toledo creates with the elongated hanging fish figures and the circular egg sacks along the upper left edge of the composition builds a dynamic rhythm and pulsating movement that encases this frenzied scene; each one is interconnected and dependent upon each other. Toledo presents to us the delicate balance between the natural, human and spiritual worlds. The figures are circling, leaping and re-transforming in an endless circle of rebirth.