Rufino_Tamayo (1899 - 1991). Rufino Tamayo was a Mexican painter born in Oaxaca de Juarez, Mexico. He blended Mexican indigenous themes with European modernist influences, creating a unique style that combined elements of surrealism, cubism, and expressionism. His work often featured vibrant colors and simplified forms, reflecting both cultural heritage and modern sensibilities. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Tamayo moved away from politically charged subjects to explore more universal themes, such as love, death, and the human condition. His art often conveys deep emotional and existential reflections. Tamayo played a significant role in promoting Mexican art internationally. He was one of the first Mexican artists to gain recognition in the global art scene, exhibiting his work in major cities around the world and contributing to the broader appreciation of Mexican art and culture. Diego Rivera, as a leading Mexican muralist, inspired Tamayo's exploration of indigenous themes and cultural identity, while Picasso’s innovations in cubism and abstraction encouraged Tamayo to experiment with composition and form. Additionally, Matisse's use of vibrant color and expressionism deeply impacted Tamayo, leading to the bold palettes and emotional depth that characterize much of his work. Tamayo was active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, painting figurative abstraction with surrealist influences. He was born in Oaxaca, Mexico in 1899 to Manuel Arellanes and Florentina Tamayo. His mother was a seamstress and his father was a shoemaker. His mother died of tuberculosis in 1911. His Zapotec heritage is often cited as an early influence. After his mother's death, he moved to Mexico City to live with his aunt, where he spent a lot of time working alongside her in the city's fruit markets. While there, he devoted himself to helping his family with their small business. However, in 1917 Tamayo's aunt enrolled him at Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas at San Carlos to study art. As a student, he experimented with and was influenced by Cubism, Impressionism and Fauvism, among other popular art movements of the time, but with a distinctly Mexican feel. Tamayo studied drawing at the Academy of Art at San Carlos as a young adult, he became dissatisfied and eventually decided to study on his own. That was when he began working for José Vasconcelos at the Department of Ethnographic Drawings; he was later appointed head of the department by Vasconcelos. Homenaje al Sol. The intention of this work was to honor the nomads and natives of the Northeast who considered the Sun as a god. Rufino Tamayo, along with other muralists such as Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros, represented the twentieth century in their native country of Mexico. After the Mexican Revolution, Tamayo devoted himself to creating a distinct identity in his work. He expressed what he envisioned as traditional Mexico and eschewed the overt political art of such contemporaries as José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, Oswaldo Guayasamín and David Alfaro Siqueiros. He disagreed with these muralists in their belief that the revolution was necessary for the future of Mexico but considered, instead, that the revolution would harm Mexico.