Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991)

Acquired from the artist
Thence by descent to the previous owner
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, Latin American Art, November 15, 1994, lot 68, illustrated in color

Mexico City, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Internacional Rufino Tamayo, Tamayo. Su Idea del Hombre, August 26-October 31, 1999, p. 49, no. 15, illustrated in color
Mexico City, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Quimera de Los Murales, June-October 2004, p. 173

Helen Lawrenson, "Mexican Women in Love," Esquire, The Magazine for Men, November 1955, p. 129, illustrated in color
Paul Westheim, Tamayo: Una investigación estética, Mexico City, 1957, illustrated
Judith Alanís, Rufino Tamayo, Una Cronología, 1899-1987, Mexico City, 1987, p. 69, discussed

This painting has been restored but there is reason to believe that the restoration is not as effective as it could be. This painting reflects Tamayo's technique quite accurately and while the paint layer appears to be stable and it exhibits Tamayo's technique well, the structural support on the reverse is not appropriate for oil paintings and it could be reexamined to the advantage of the work itself. When viewed under ultraviolet light it is not possible to positively identify any restorations but there are retouches visible to the naked eye in the center of the work which could be improved. Because the lining is fairly heavy handed, it is a wax lining with a mechanical stretcher, there is the chance that this addresses some paint losses or issues which can be restored, however we are unable to positively identify any of these with the ultraviolet light. The lining should be reversed and replaced with a lining using Beva-371, and the losses that are visible should be retouched. Whether the paint layer is cleaned and the older losses, which may or may not be there, are addressed is a matter of choice, but it seems most likely that it is only the lining which should be reexamined. 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.

We wish to thank Juan Carlos Pereda for his kind assistance in the cataloguing of this work.

In 1953 Rufino Tamayo was awarded the grand prize in the category of international painting at the second São Paulo Biennial. The following year this honor was celebrated in his native country with a major exhibition held at the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana in Mexico City. The catalogue for the show included an essay by Octavio Paz. His opening remarks stated the following: "Sun and moon, day and night, mechanical terror and an almost animal joy in light, inimical and complimentary forces define the universe of Rufino Tamayo." These words are appropriate to describe on the artist's most significant compositions of works painted during the fruitful decade of the 1950s. El Tragafuego is a study in motion. A white amorphous space provides the setting for a variety of conjoined geometric shapes that merge to create a frenetic fire eater that is ubiquitous in Mexico's circuses and even busy intersections.

The first half of the 1950s was a crucial period for the development of Tamayo's art. His imagery during the 1940s was concrete and readable. The human form was inviolate – intact and undisturbed. The strictly representational clarity of his art, however, began to dissolve after he made his first trip to Europe in 1949. Long impressed by the cubist-related work of Picasso and others, he immersed himself in the eloquent emotive qualities of the painters of the School of Paris. One of the artists who most influenced Tamayo was Jean Dubuffet. The thick textures and art brut intensity of this master's work appealed to Tamayo's own desire to communicate the telluric forces which he perceived as the primary elements of human nature. A similar energetic sensibility is present in El Tragafuego.

Tamayo was also highly sensitized to the unstable political conditions of both east and west in the post-war years. Many of his paintings executed during the 1940s were dark reminders of the inevitable pessimism of that time. Beginning around 1950 a new transcendental, meditative quality appeared in Tamayo's art.  The nineteen fifties witnessed the creation of a number of paintings related in both style and subject matter to the present work.  All of these are redolent with the disturbed, uncertain mood that was the dominant quality of Tamayo's art of that year.  However, darker emotions often came to the surface in the works produced during that decade.  Man Pouring Out His Heart (Mexico City, Club de Industriales) and especially the famous composition entitled Cosmic Terror (Mexico City, Museum of Modern Art) evidence the tightly bound emotional content of Tamayo's art at this moment.