Luis Arenal Bastar
The Fanatic (El fanático)circa 1935

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Indigenismo in Latin America

Vertical oil painting of a stylized kneeling figure with raised arms, pale body contrasting with a darkly painted face, set in a dim interior room with wooden floors

Artist or Maker: Luis Arenal Bastar
Mexico, 1909-1985
Title: The Fanatic (El fanático)
Date Made: circa 1935
Medium: Oil on laminated paperboard
Dimensions: Frame: 46 1/2 × 38 3/4 × 1 3/4 in. (118.11 × 98.43 × 4.45 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Dr. Electa Arenal and Julie Arenal Primus in memory of Rose Beigel Arenal
Accession Number: M.2002.192
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: This kneeling figure is likely a reference to religious extremism, a recurring subject for Luis Arenal Bastar in the aftermath of Mexico’s Revolution (1910–20). Here, the figure wears the white cotton clothing associated with Mexican peasants; his outstretched arms push past the corners of the canvas, heightening the composition’s tension. This strained pose, reminiscent of scenes of the Crucifixion, conveys a hopeless sense of confinement. While the revolutionary and leftist circles to which Arenal belonged were skeptical of the religious fervor in Mexico’s pueblos, they also sympathized with rural laborers and their struggle for social and economic justice.

A deeply engaged activist, Arenal’s art often served sociopolitical means, and his organizing activities frequently attracted official scrutiny. He was a founding member of the Taller de Gráfica Popular (People’s Print Workshop) and collaborated with famed muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896–1974) on projects in the United States and Mexico.

Rachel Kaplan

2024
Selected Bibliography: Manthorne, Katherine. California Mexicana: Missions to Murals, 1820-1930. Laguna Beach: Laguna Art Museum, 2017.
Haskell, Barbara, ed. Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925-1945. New York: Whitney Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020.
Copyright: © Museum Associates/LACMA

Luis Arenal Bastar
The Fanatic (El fanático)circa 1935

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Indigenismo in Latin America

Artist or Maker: Luis Arenal Bastar
Mexico, 1909-1985
Title: The Fanatic (El fanático)
Date Made: circa 1935
Medium: Oil on laminated paperboard
Dimensions: Frame: 46 1/2 × 38 3/4 × 1 3/4 in. (118.11 × 98.43 × 4.45 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Dr. Electa Arenal and Julie Arenal Primus in memory of Rose Beigel Arenal
Accession Number: M.2002.192
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: This kneeling figure is likely a reference to religious extremism, a recurring subject for Luis Arenal Bastar in the aftermath of Mexico’s Revolution (1910–20). Here, the figure wears the white cotton clothing associated with Mexican peasants; his outstretched arms push past the corners of the canvas, heightening the composition’s tension. This strained pose, reminiscent of scenes of the Crucifixion, conveys a hopeless sense of confinement. While the revolutionary and leftist circles to which Arenal belonged were skeptical of the religious fervor in Mexico’s pueblos, they also sympathized with rural laborers and their struggle for social and economic justice.

A deeply engaged activist, Arenal’s art often served sociopolitical means, and his organizing activities frequently attracted official scrutiny. He was a founding member of the Taller de Gráfica Popular (People’s Print Workshop) and collaborated with famed muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896–1974) on projects in the United States and Mexico.

Rachel Kaplan

2024
Selected Bibliography: Manthorne, Katherine. California Mexicana: Missions to Murals, 1820-1930. Laguna Beach: Laguna Art Museum, 2017.
Haskell, Barbara, ed. Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925-1945. New York: Whitney Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020.