La de las bellas artes

Manuel Alvarez Bravo sought to represent the viewpoint of Mexico’s Indigenous cultural heritage and its peasants as he chronicled their encounter with the country’s rapid modernization. His work is often considered Surrealist, but he never formally identified with that art movement. The odd juxtapositions, occasional humor, and quixotic viewpoint of his images may derive from growing up in a culture that contains both Indigenous and European traditions.

A horizontally oriented black-and-white photograph depicts a person with a light skin tone from below, one wide eye visible as they face toward our right. Layers of coarse, heavy-textured fabric wrap around their head and torso. Bright light from our right creates a strong contrast, emphasizing the rough weave of the material and casting the left side into deep shadow.

La de las bellas artes

1933, printed 1974

Manuel Álvarez Bravo

(Mexican, 1902–2002)

Mexico

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