BACK TO GALLERY
French & Company
David Alfaro Siqueiros
Despair
Signed and dated 'Siqueiros 3-61' (lower right), signed again, dated and inscribed 'Cárcel Preventiv
32 x 24 inches
description
Seeking the comfort of darkness against grief and despair, a Mexican woman covers her eyes.
A direct and expressive image, Desesperación is emblematic of all who suffer, most notably women for their loved ones. Using complementary colors, thick impasto, forceful brushstrokes, and a triangular composition Siqueiros represents a human emotion fundamental to the species.
In December 1960, deadly student protest broke out in the city of Chilpancingo in the Mexican state of Guerrero. During the preceding years, political tensions in Guerrero had mounted between the left-wing Partido Comunista Mexicano and Partido Popular Socialista and Governor General Raúl Caballero Aburto of the ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional.
Govenor Caballero Aburto was characterized as highly militaristic and considered by some to be despotic and corrupt. In the summer of 1960, the historic Colegio del Estado lost its autonomy and came under the control of the State as the newly renamed University of Guerrero. Students and administrators organized non-violent demonstrations which were supported by peasant workers in Chilpancingo and the Civic Association of Guerrero (Asociación Cívica Guerrerense), a group that fought for land reform and the ouster of Caballero Aburto.
Civil disobedience came to a head on December 30 when during a student protest in Chilpancingo, an electrician was shot by law enforcement for hanging a protest sign. It sparked a massive demonstration which turned deadly when the 24th Infantry Battalion was ordered by the Governor to quell the unrest. The soldiers fired on the crowd, leaving fifteen dead and many more wounded.
The present work is one of a series of approximately 204 cárcel preventive paintings, most of them completed in cell 36 of the Lecumberri Prison where David Alfaro Siqueiros was convicted of 'social dissolution' and sentenced for his involvement with the student protests of 1960. He was pardoned by President Adolfo Lopez Mateos in 1964 after nearly four years of incarceration.
Of this period, Siqueiros remarked, "Prison transformed me into an easel painter. I had always painted murals, and my earlier portable works were simply sketches for murals. Strictly speaking, I had never done easel painting until I found myself in jail. I had to think in terms of small paintings—my cell measured only 6 by 12 feet, and the light came from only a tiny window" (quoted in New York Times, "Prison Paintings of Siqueiros Draw Leftists and Art Lovers," September 13, 1964, p. 82.) Desesperación is exceptional for its size - it is among his largest formats for his cárcel preventive paintings with the majority produced under 18 x 12 inches.
Together with Diego Rivera and José Clement Orozco, Siqueiros is considered one the greatest 20th century Mexican muralist. After studying in Paris, Siqueiros returned to Mexico in 1922 and joined the Mexican Communist Party. His large-scale murals include depictions of the exploitation and hardships of the peasant and working class. He undertook commissions both in New York, where he met Jackson Pollack, and Los Angeles. Soon bared from the United States, Siqueiros participated in the 1950 Venice Bienalle.
Provenance:
Luis Coq Guichard was a trained engineer and real estate investor who founded a construction company building highways and condominiums in his birth state of Michoacán. He served as deputy (Diputado Federal) for the 51st LXV Legislature of the Mexican Congress (LI Legislatura del Congreso de la Unión de México) representing District 8 in the state of Michoacán under the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional). In this position, Coq Guichard was a lawmaker representing the prevailing political party and his electoral district. He was elected to a three-year term in 1979, completing his first year before his untimely passing in 1980 at the age of 58.
A direct and expressive image, Desesperación is emblematic of all who suffer, most notably women for their loved ones. Using complementary colors, thick impasto, forceful brushstrokes, and a triangular composition Siqueiros represents a human emotion fundamental to the species.
In December 1960, deadly student protest broke out in the city of Chilpancingo in the Mexican state of Guerrero. During the preceding years, political tensions in Guerrero had mounted between the left-wing Partido Comunista Mexicano and Partido Popular Socialista and Governor General Raúl Caballero Aburto of the ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional.
Govenor Caballero Aburto was characterized as highly militaristic and considered by some to be despotic and corrupt. In the summer of 1960, the historic Colegio del Estado lost its autonomy and came under the control of the State as the newly renamed University of Guerrero. Students and administrators organized non-violent demonstrations which were supported by peasant workers in Chilpancingo and the Civic Association of Guerrero (Asociación Cívica Guerrerense), a group that fought for land reform and the ouster of Caballero Aburto.
Civil disobedience came to a head on December 30 when during a student protest in Chilpancingo, an electrician was shot by law enforcement for hanging a protest sign. It sparked a massive demonstration which turned deadly when the 24th Infantry Battalion was ordered by the Governor to quell the unrest. The soldiers fired on the crowd, leaving fifteen dead and many more wounded.
The present work is one of a series of approximately 204 cárcel preventive paintings, most of them completed in cell 36 of the Lecumberri Prison where David Alfaro Siqueiros was convicted of 'social dissolution' and sentenced for his involvement with the student protests of 1960. He was pardoned by President Adolfo Lopez Mateos in 1964 after nearly four years of incarceration.
Of this period, Siqueiros remarked, "Prison transformed me into an easel painter. I had always painted murals, and my earlier portable works were simply sketches for murals. Strictly speaking, I had never done easel painting until I found myself in jail. I had to think in terms of small paintings—my cell measured only 6 by 12 feet, and the light came from only a tiny window" (quoted in New York Times, "Prison Paintings of Siqueiros Draw Leftists and Art Lovers," September 13, 1964, p. 82.) Desesperación is exceptional for its size - it is among his largest formats for his cárcel preventive paintings with the majority produced under 18 x 12 inches.
Together with Diego Rivera and José Clement Orozco, Siqueiros is considered one the greatest 20th century Mexican muralist. After studying in Paris, Siqueiros returned to Mexico in 1922 and joined the Mexican Communist Party. His large-scale murals include depictions of the exploitation and hardships of the peasant and working class. He undertook commissions both in New York, where he met Jackson Pollack, and Los Angeles. Soon bared from the United States, Siqueiros participated in the 1950 Venice Bienalle.
Provenance:
Luis Coq Guichard was a trained engineer and real estate investor who founded a construction company building highways and condominiums in his birth state of Michoacán. He served as deputy (Diputado Federal) for the 51st LXV Legislature of the Mexican Congress (LI Legislatura del Congreso de la Unión de México) representing District 8 in the state of Michoacán under the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional). In this position, Coq Guichard was a lawmaker representing the prevailing political party and his electoral district. He was elected to a three-year term in 1979, completing his first year before his untimely passing in 1980 at the age of 58.
SEND AN EMAIL
(212) 535-3330