The Lost Story of María Izquierdo
by Natalie Fisk
Oct 21, 2021
Do you ever look at a painting by Frida Kahlo and intrinsically feel like there's something more to the History of Mexican Art?
As a Mexican American artist, I, like many people, have always appreciated a good painting by Kahlo or Rivera. However, when I did a little digging around, I found that we were missing a narrative in the tale of Mexican Art, which was the story of a little-known Mexican painter, María Izquierdo.
María Cenobia Izquierdo Gutiérrez was born in Jalisco, Mexico in 1902. She taught herself art techniques until 1923 when she and her family moved to Mexico City to formally study Art. Maria studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1928 and participated in an exhibition at the school that same year. Respected artist of the Mexican Muralist movement Diego Rivera served as the school's Director and was an early and avid supporter of Izquierdo. He described her as "one of the most appealing figures in the art scene in Mexico." 1
Izquierdo's art was so impactful that she quickly gained international recognition. By 1930, she became the first Mexican woman to have a solo show in the United States at The Art Center in New York. 2 With all this going for Izquierdo, it seemed success was all but guaranteed, but life had many surprises in store for her.
There were multiple ideologies proliferating in Mexican Art at this time.
Izquierdo's mestiza (3) identity played a critical role in the work she made, and she honored this identity above what was more popular in Mexican Art circles at the time. 4 She began her career under the patronage of Diego Rivera, but soon allied herself with an avant-garde group in opposition to the Muralists, the "Contemporáneos," who challenged the former on a number of levels. The Contemporáneos believed that Mexican culture should be viewed as a vital contributor to the dominant Western culture.
The Contemporáneos held the work of Izquierdo in opposition to the Muralists as a representative of cultural nationalism 'beyond' politics and closer to the 'purity' of indigenous culture. The group also critiqued the Muralists’ use of male dominance and power as a structural framework for defining national identity." 5
Izquierdo's criticism of the Mexican Muralists came to a head when she was awarded a commission to paint a series of murals for the Palacio del Departamento del Distrito Federal (The District Federal Department). She was so ill-thought of by Diego and his cohort at this point that the Mexican Muralists proclaimed she lacked the talent and the experience to complete the project. This declaration resulted in Izquierdo losing the opportunity entirely. 6 In response to this outcome, she is famed for saying;
"It is a crime to be born a woman and have talent." 7
María Izquierdo eventually suffered a stroke in 1940, which she never fully recovered from. Although she kept painting until the end of her life, she never garnered the same attention or acclaim that she once received. Pushed into oblivion by the more popular and acceptable forms of Mexican Art, history left her story behind along with many others.
There is so much more than these short highlights to the story of María Izquierdo. After researching about her, I've found that there are many Mexican artists beyond Kahlo and Rivera whose work conceptually stands the test of time and is worth understanding. It's sad to read about a story like this, but also a relief to know that even if the work you make gets left behind, there is always a curious artist waiting to rediscover the beauty and preciousness of what is forgotten.
Natalie Fisk is an artist based in Upstate New York. She is interested in lesser known stories about Art. She graduated from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2011.
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+Resources
Lozano, Luis-Martin (1996). María Izquierdo : 1902-1955. Chicago: Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum. ISBN 1-889410-00-4.
Ferrer, Elizabeth (1997). The true poetry : the art of María Izquierdo. New York: Americas Society. ISBN 1-879128-15-2.
Mestiza - a feminine word for a person of mixed Spanish and American Indigenous ancestry.
Deffebach, Nancy (2015). María Izquierdo et Frida Kahlo : challenging visions in modern Mexican art. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-77242-7. OCLC 952187681.
Painting Mexican Identities: Nationalism and Gender in the Work of María Izquierdo. Oxford Art Journal Vol. 23, No. 1 (2000), pp. 51-71 (21 pages) Published By: Oxford University Press
Ferrer, Elizabeth (1997). The true poetry : the art of María Izquierdo. New York: Americas Society. ISBN 1-879128-15-2.
Craven, David (2002). Art And Revolution in Latin America, 1910-1990. ISBN 9780300082111.