Rufino Tamayo

Name: Rufino Tamayo
Birth Place: Oaxaca, Oaxaca Mexico
Birth Date: August 26, 1899
Death Date: June 24, 1991
Genre: Pop Art
Famous works: mixografías Dos Personajes Atacados por Perros
Quote: None
Influenced by: Unknown




Rufino Tamayo (August 26, 1899 – June 24, 1991) was a Mexican painter. He was a Zapotec Native American and was born in Oaxaca, Oaxaca.

He moved to México City where he attended the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas "San Carlos." Tamayo was exposed to the cultural wealth of pre-Colombian México as he worked as a draftsman at the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia. His exhibitions have been in major museums such as the Palacio Nacional de Bellas Artes, México, The Philips Collection in Washington, The Guggenheim Museum in New York, The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid as well as important art galleries throughout the world.

In his paintings, Tamayo expressed what he believed was the traditional Mexico and did not follow the more politically based paintings that many of his contemporaries such as José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, Oswaldo Guayasamin and David Alfaro Siqueiros did. Tamayo and another artist, Lea Remba, were the first artists to create a new type of printed artwork called "mixografía". This consisted of artwork printed on paper but with depth and texture. One of their most famous mixografías is entitled Dos Personajes Atacados por Perros ("Two Characters Attacked by Dogs").

Tamayo also painted murals, some of which – including Nacimiento de la nacionalidad ("Birth of the Nationality"), 1952 – are displayed inside Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes opera house. His art has also been shown in U.S. museums such as The Phillips Collection in Washington and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

The Tamayo Contemporary Art Museum (Museo Tamayo de Arte Contemporáneo), located on Paseo de la Reforma as it crosses Chapultepec Park, was opened in 1981 as a repository for the collections that Rufino and his wife, Olga, acquired during their lifetimes and ultimately gifted to the nation.

Tamayo also built another art museum in his home city of Oaxaca,Oaxaca, the Museo Rufino Tamayo.

In 1988 he was the recipient of the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor.

In 1972 Tamayo was the subject of the documentary film, Rufino Tamayo: The Sources of his Art by Gary Conklin.

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