1963.121.FA Rufino Tamayo, Lunatic, 1959

Printed in Paris, this seemingly monochromatic lithograph is representative of Rufino Tamayo’s figural abstraction in print. Here the artist’s subtle addition of grays and greens to the face of his sitter creates a sense of depth in a grossly geometric portrayal. Tamayo’s short and violent strikes to the carving stone resulted in a chilling portrait of an aptly-named "lunatic," whose piercing gaze confronts its spectator. The artist chose to embrace and celebrate the ominous and mysterious character of the unidentified figure by further obscuring the background and creating an undecipherable environment. Lines swirl around the head of the crazed man, indicating chaos, but also a sense of his mental confusion.

Erin Piñon, Tower Gallery: Latin American Art, Label text, 2017.

Tamayo_Rufino: ULAN: 500024331

Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560

Oaxaca (state/Mexico): TGN: 7005591

Mexico City (Mexico): TGN: 7007227

Paris (France): TGN: 7008038

color lithographs: AAT: 300041383

lithographs (planographic prints): AAT: 300041379

lithography: AAT: 300053271

chromolithographs: AAT: 300041384

chromolithography: AAT: 300053272

Mixografia (R) (embossed prints): AAT: 300265654

embossing (technique): AAT: 300053826

prints (visual works): AAT: 300041273

works on paper: AAT: 300189621

figures (representations): AAT: 300189808

human figures: AAT: 300404114

abstract: AAT: 300108127

abstraction: AAT: 300056508

hospital wards (health facility spaces): AAT: 300004543

asylums (welfare buildings): AAT: 300006752

psychiatric hospitals (mental health facilities): AAT: 300006733

sanatoriums (extended care facilities / health facilities): AAT: 300006720

patients (people): AAT: 300189316

inmates (people): AAT: 300190096

faces (animal or human components): AAT: 300251798

heads (representations): AAT: 300262520

busts (figure): AAT: 300047457

standing: AAT: 300239500

monochrome: AAT: 300137660

geometric shape: AAT: 300263819

geometric motifs: AAT: 300009764

geometric abstraction: AAT: 300056509

lines (geometric concept): AAT: 300056279

circles (plane figures): AAT: 300055627

form (composition concepts): AAT: 300056272

linear forms: AAT: 300234452

black (color): AAT: 300130920

gray (color): AAT: 300130811

green (color): AAT: 300128438

violence: AAT: 300192799

gaze: AAT: 300263453

chaos (concepts): AAT: 300247349

mental activities (concept): AAT: 300264362

mental disorders: AAT: 300055131

background: AAT: 300056369

outlines (linear form): AAT: 300124267

contour: AAT: 300056263

Until 1961: Marvin Small, Fort Lee, New Jersey [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

1961-1963: Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts, gift of the above [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

From 1963: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Marvin Small, transferred from the above, May 30, 1963 [1], [6], [7], [8]

[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 main source for this provenance is letter from Jacob D. Weintraub, New Art Center Gallery, New York, to Douglas MacAgy, Director of the Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts (dated November 14, 1961, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[3] The main source for this provenance is letter from Douglas MacAgy, Director of the Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts, to Marvin Small (dated November 16, 1961, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[4] The main source for this provenance is letter from Jacob D. Weintraub, New Art Center Gallery, New York, to Douglas MacAgy, Director of the Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts (dated November 28, 1961, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[5] The main source for this provenance is Deed of Gift (dated November 16, 1961), copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[6] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

[7] The Foundation for the Arts is a non-profit corporation created as a title-holding entity to serve the people of Dallas but to operate independently of the City. The Dallas Museum of Art (at its own cost) is responsible for the care, storage, insurance, conservation and maintenance of the collection, and agrees to maintain the highest museum standards in the management and handling of the Foundation’s collection. The title to all works of art purchased or otherwise acquired by the Foundation for the Arts is retained by the Foundation.

[8] Pursuant to the April 19, 1963 Agreement of Merger between the Dallas Association and the Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts (DMCA), the collection of the Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts was transferred to the Foundation for the Arts.