Woman Carrying a Coffin (Mujer cargando un ataúd)

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Woman Carrying a Coffin (Mujer cargando un ataúd)

Mexico, circa 1936
Paintings
Cellulose nitrate and oil
Frame: 31 1/2 × 22 1/2 × 1 1/4 in. (80.01 × 57.15 × 3.18 cm)
Gift of Electa Arenal and Julie Arenal Primus (M.2001.201)
Currently on public view:
Broad Contemporary Art Museum, floor 3

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Curator Notes

Woman Carrying a Coffin (Mujer cargando un ataúd) shows an indigenous woman seemingly walking into infinity with a coffin on her head; the right side depicts an eerie sky created with a ...
Woman Carrying a Coffin (Mujer cargando un ataúd) shows an indigenous woman seemingly walking into infinity with a coffin on her head; the right side depicts an eerie sky created with a dripping technique. Luis Arenal Bastar participated in David Alfaro Siqueiros's legendary Experimental Workshop in New York, which was founded in 1936. The workshop was designed as a laboratory for experimentation, and artists were encouraged to use unconventional materials such as industrial paint, as well unconventional methods such as pouring, dripping, and splattering to create the effect of controlled accidents. Ilona Katzew, 2008
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Bibliography

  • Affron, Matthew, Mark A. Castro, Dafne Cruz Porchini, and Renato González Mello, eds. Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910-1950. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art; Mexico City: Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, 2016.