GENERAL DESCRIPTION
When Rufino Tamayo was commissioned to create a monumental portable mural by then Dallas Art Association President Stanley Marcus for display at the 1953 State Fair of Texas, the artist chose a universal subject—humankind.
Devoid of traditional allusions to Mexico and Mexicanism, El hombre echoes an ancient heritage while embracing international modernist styles. Tamayo retained figuration in the form of a colossal man whose abstracted limbs are both firmly planted into the ground and extended toward the constellations. This three-panel mural shows man as a transcendent being—a liminal figure on the borderlands of innovation and tradition, future and past. At the man’s foot, a dog acts as a reminder of terrestrial limitations amidst a celestial scene of human aspiration and development.
Throughout his career, Tamayo distinguished his art from the politicized and nationalistic subjects of his contemporaries José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Diego Rivera.
Adapted from
México 1900–1950, Label text, 2017.
NOTES
- Fun Facts Source: See documentation in Collections Records Object File- September 22, 1953 Correspondence between Jerry Bywaters, the Director of the DMFA at the time this mural was commissioned, and Barry Bishop, the press attaché at the American Embassy in Mexico. Jerry Bywaters to Rufino Tamayo, September 15, 1953.
- THIS NOTE BEGAN WHILE WRITING LABEL FOR MEXICO 1900-1950
- TAMAYO- august 25 1899- June 24 1991
- NYC 1926-1929; NYC 1937-1949; Paris 1949-1959 (letter Tamayo Sept 1953 addressed to Coyoacan, Mexico)
- 06/2016, Extended Text (Label Copy), Erin Piñon
- This portable mural—comprised of three large panels—was painted by Rufino Tamayo in 1953 under a commission by then Dallas Art Association President, Stanley Marcus. A result of the Museum’s interest in acquiring Mexican works and expanding its collection of Latin American paintings, El Hombre represents a symbiosis between Mexico and Texas, and the endearing friendship between Marcus and Tamayo.
- Proudly divorcing himself from the politicized and nationalistic subject matter of his contemporaries, Tamayo chose a universal subject for this monumental painting—humankind. Devoid of the traditional allusions to Mexico and Mexicanism, El Hombe echoes an ancient heritage, while engaging in a dialogue with Mexican and European modernism. Here the artist paints a colossal figure whose abstracted limbs are both firmly planted into the ground and whimsically interwoven within the constellations. On his work, Tamayo states, “I am interested in Man. Man is my subject, Man who is the creator of all scientific and technological wonders.” The artist paints man as transcendent being—a liminal figure on the borderlands of innovation and tradition, future and past. At the man’s foot, Tamayo paints a dog, a reminder of terrestrial limitations amidst a celestial scene of human aspiration and development.
- Rufino Tamayo in New York extended/group label (draft for exhibition wall text)
- Rufino Tamayo lived intermittently in the United States in the 1930s and 40s. His artwork was very successful, synthesizing Mexican, French, and New York vanguards while seeking a nationalist essence. The defense of a Mexican language, the constant reference to figuration without being narrative or imitative, and the need for a universality of art converged at the core of Tamayo’s work. Throughout his career, Tamayo championed a form of nationalism that was open to internationalization, in active opposition to position chosen by the “Big Three” of a single nationalist language that prohibited--at least in theory-- outside influences.
- Mexico 1900-1950 catalogue draft:
CAT. 175Rufino TamayoMexican, 1899–1991ManEl hombre1953Vinyl with pigment on Masonite, 548.6 x 320 cmDallas Museum of ArtCommissioned by the Dallas Art Association through Neiman-Marcus Exposition Funds, 1953.22
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Tamayo_Rufino: ULAN: 500024331
Cultures
Geography
Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560
Mexico City (Mexico): TGN: 7007227
Texas (state/United States): TGN: 7007826
State Fair of Texas (Dallas / exhibitions / events): DMA
Dallas (Texas/United States): TGN: 7013503
Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
New York (New York/United States): TGN: 7007567
Process/materials
vinyl (thermoplastic): AAT: 300014502
pigment: AAT: 300013109
panels (surface components): AAT: 300069079
Masonite (TM): AAT: 300014205
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
painting (visual works): AAT: 300033618
murals: AAT: 300182732
commissions (events): AAT: 300393199
monumental: AAT: 300073760
portable: AAT: 300256252
Marcus_Stanley: DMA
fairs (exhibitions / events): AAT: 300054776
humans (homo sapiens species): AAT: 300265711
human figures: AAT: 300404114
male: AAT: 300189559
men (male humans): AAT: 300025928
human (culture): AAT: 300393250
ancient (style and period): AAT: 300106711
cultural heritage (culture and related concepts): AAT: 300265422
modernist (European style): AAT: 300021474
figures (representations): AAT: 300189808
abstract: AAT: 300108127
abstraction: AAT: 300056508
ground (material): AAT: 300015297
sky: AAT: 300263064
constellations (celestial sphere / astronomy / concepts): DMA
stars (extraterrestrial bodies): AAT: 300387654
moon: AAT: 300386951
borderlands (districts by location or context): AAT: 300387143
dogs (animals): AAT: 300250130
terrestrial (concepts): AAT: 300404121
celestial (concepts): AAT: 300404122
duality (concepts): DMA
Rivera_Diego: ULAN: 500025126
Orozco_José Clemente: ULAN: 500012316
Siqueiros_David Alfaro: ULAN: 500008908
landscapes (environments): AAT: 300008626
landscapes (representations): AAT: 300015636
Canis (species / dogs / coyotes / wolves / jackals / dingos): AAT: 300265714
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1953: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association commission, Neiman-Marcus Company Exposition Funds, commissioned from the artist [1], [2]
[1] The main source for this provenance was existing information in TMS (in Dallas Museum of Art Digital Collections Records Object Files). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The Dallas Art Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
- 28775799: UMO
- 280539964: UMO
- 264283028: UMO
- 13310601: UMO
- 264187798: UMO
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Tamayo's El Hombre~Watch a 1999 video in Spanish produced by Canal 22 (Mexico City), and learn more about the artist and the DMA's El Hombre (1953.22).
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- The mural had a tumultuous journey from Mexico to Dallas during the summer of 1953. Its location was unknown for a period of time when flooding in Northern Mexico caused railcars to reroute and cease operations. Bywaters wrote the artist with relief when the work arrived unscathed in September.
- In 1952, Tamayo visited the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts (now the DMA) for four days as a visiting artist.
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1953.22
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
When Rufino Tamayo was commissioned to create a monumental portable mural by then Dallas Art Association President Stanley Marcus for display at the 1953 State Fair of Texas, the artist chose a universal subject—humankind.
Devoid of traditional allusions to Mexico and Mexicanism, El hombre echoes an ancient heritage while embracing international modernist styles. Tamayo retained figuration in the form of a colossal man whose abstracted limbs are both firmly planted into the ground and extended toward the constellations. This three-panel mural shows man as a transcendent being—a liminal figure on the borderlands of innovation and tradition, future and past. At the man’s foot, a dog acts as a reminder of terrestrial limitations amidst a celestial scene of human aspiration and development.
Throughout his career, Tamayo distinguished his art from the politicized and nationalistic subjects of his contemporaries José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Diego Rivera.
Adapted from
México 1900–1950, Label text, 2017.
Fun Facts
- The mural had a tumultuous journey from Mexico to Dallas during the summer of 1953. Its location was unknown for a period of time when flooding in Northern Mexico caused railcars to reroute and cease operations. Bywaters wrote the artist with relief when the work arrived unscathed in September.
- In 1952, Tamayo visited the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts (now the DMA) for four days as a visiting artist.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
- Fun Facts Source: See documentation in Collections Records Object File- September 22, 1953 Correspondence between Jerry Bywaters, the Director of the DMFA at the time this mural was commissioned, and Barry Bishop, the press attaché at the American Embassy in Mexico. Jerry Bywaters to Rufino Tamayo, September 15, 1953.
- THIS NOTE BEGAN WHILE WRITING LABEL FOR MEXICO 1900-1950
- TAMAYO- august 25 1899- June 24 1991
- NYC 1926-1929; NYC 1937-1949; Paris 1949-1959 (letter Tamayo Sept 1953 addressed to Coyoacan, Mexico)
- 06/2016, Extended Text (Label Copy), Erin Piñon
- This portable mural—comprised of three large panels—was painted by Rufino Tamayo in 1953 under a commission by then Dallas Art Association President, Stanley Marcus. A result of the Museum’s interest in acquiring Mexican works and expanding its collection of Latin American paintings, El Hombre represents a symbiosis between Mexico and Texas, and the endearing friendship between Marcus and Tamayo.
- Proudly divorcing himself from the politicized and nationalistic subject matter of his contemporaries, Tamayo chose a universal subject for this monumental painting—humankind. Devoid of the traditional allusions to Mexico and Mexicanism, El Hombe echoes an ancient heritage, while engaging in a dialogue with Mexican and European modernism. Here the artist paints a colossal figure whose abstracted limbs are both firmly planted into the ground and whimsically interwoven within the constellations. On his work, Tamayo states, “I am interested in Man. Man is my subject, Man who is the creator of all scientific and technological wonders.” The artist paints man as transcendent being—a liminal figure on the borderlands of innovation and tradition, future and past. At the man’s foot, Tamayo paints a dog, a reminder of terrestrial limitations amidst a celestial scene of human aspiration and development.
- Rufino Tamayo in New York extended/group label (draft for exhibition wall text)
- Rufino Tamayo lived intermittently in the United States in the 1930s and 40s. His artwork was very successful, synthesizing Mexican, French, and New York vanguards while seeking a nationalist essence. The defense of a Mexican language, the constant reference to figuration without being narrative or imitative, and the need for a universality of art converged at the core of Tamayo’s work. Throughout his career, Tamayo championed a form of nationalism that was open to internationalization, in active opposition to position chosen by the “Big Three” of a single nationalist language that prohibited--at least in theory-- outside influences.
- Mexico 1900-1950 catalogue draft:
CAT. 175Rufino TamayoMexican, 1899–1991ManEl hombre1953Vinyl with pigment on Masonite, 548.6 x 320 cmDallas Museum of ArtCommissioned by the Dallas Art Association through Neiman-Marcus Exposition Funds, 1953.22
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Tamayo_Rufino: ULAN: 500024331
Cultures
Geography
Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560
Mexico City (Mexico): TGN: 7007227
Texas (state/United States): TGN: 7007826
State Fair of Texas (Dallas / exhibitions / events): DMA
Dallas (Texas/United States): TGN: 7013503
Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
New York (New York/United States): TGN: 7007567
Process/materials
vinyl (thermoplastic): AAT: 300014502
pigment: AAT: 300013109
panels (surface components): AAT: 300069079
Masonite (TM): AAT: 300014205
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
painting (visual works): AAT: 300033618
murals: AAT: 300182732
commissions (events): AAT: 300393199
monumental: AAT: 300073760
portable: AAT: 300256252
Marcus_Stanley: DMA
fairs (exhibitions / events): AAT: 300054776
humans (homo sapiens species): AAT: 300265711
human figures: AAT: 300404114
male: AAT: 300189559
men (male humans): AAT: 300025928
human (culture): AAT: 300393250
ancient (style and period): AAT: 300106711
cultural heritage (culture and related concepts): AAT: 300265422
modernist (European style): AAT: 300021474
figures (representations): AAT: 300189808
abstract: AAT: 300108127
abstraction: AAT: 300056508
ground (material): AAT: 300015297
sky: AAT: 300263064
constellations (celestial sphere / astronomy / concepts): DMA
stars (extraterrestrial bodies): AAT: 300387654
moon: AAT: 300386951
borderlands (districts by location or context): AAT: 300387143
dogs (animals): AAT: 300250130
terrestrial (concepts): AAT: 300404121
celestial (concepts): AAT: 300404122
duality (concepts): DMA
Rivera_Diego: ULAN: 500025126
Orozco_José Clemente: ULAN: 500012316
Siqueiros_David Alfaro: ULAN: 500008908
landscapes (environments): AAT: 300008626
landscapes (representations): AAT: 300015636
Canis (species / dogs / coyotes / wolves / jackals / dingos): AAT: 300265714
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1953: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association commission, Neiman-Marcus Company Exposition Funds, commissioned from the artist [1], [2]
[1] The main source for this provenance was existing information in TMS (in Dallas Museum of Art Digital Collections Records Object Files). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The Dallas Art Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
- 28775799: UMO
- 280539964: UMO
- 264283028: UMO
- 13310601: UMO
- 264187798: UMO
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
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1953.22
source file
object_notes_3_c-0287.xml.nores