Portrait of Juan Soriano

Today we present a portrait created by María Izquierdo, a Mexican painter known for being the first Mexican woman to have her artwork exhibited in the United States. She committed both her life and her career to painting art that displayed her Mexican roots.

Izquierdo's portrait of the painter Juan Soriano not only typifies her dark palette of the late 1930s, but also documents the artist's friendship with her sitter. Soriano has recalled that he first met Izquierdo in 1934, when he was exhibiting his work in his hometown of Guadalajara. Soriano introduced her to his friend and mentor Chucho Reyes, and she in turn persuaded Soriano to move to Mexico City to study and paint. In an interview with art historian Elizabeth Ferrer, Soriano recalled that he and Izquierdo purchased the paints for the portrait together, and he admired the way Izquierdo drew attention to the center of the canvas through the bright red strokes of paint on his tie. Izquierdo's portrait captures Soriano gazing dreamily into the distance, dressed in an elegant double breasted grey suit with a handkerchief in his pocket and a cigarette in his neatly manicured hands. Soriano's heavy shadow reinforces the mood of intimate contemplation. Izquierdo painted a number of her artist friends for the exhibition, but many of these are now lost, and Izquierdo's painting of Soriano thus provides a unique insight into her approach to portraiture in these years.

We present today's work thanks to Museo Andrés Blaisten.  :)

P.S. Read our interview with the owner of Museo Blaisten where you can admire works of María Izquierdo!

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