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Hombre con flor
A sense of longing and a grappling with understanding pervade the work of Rufino Tamayo
as surely as the vivid, lavish hues of red, orange, and violet.
And if you don’t hurry, you’ll find yourself longing for a chance to see these paintings. Tamayo: A Modern Icon Reinterpreted, the first exhibition of Tamayo’s work in 30 years, ends its three-month run at the Miami Art Museum on Sunday.
The Mexican master started out experimenting with Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, and other European art movements, all of which collide on his canvases and channel a wide range of emotion. His creative peak, in the Thirties and Forties, is well documented at MAM.
Especially potent are Niña Atacada por un Pajaro Extrano (Girl Attacked by a Strange Bird) and El Atormentado (The Tormented Man), both reactions to World War II. Perhaps most poignant of all is Hombre con flor (Man with flower), a seeming self-portrait of the artist in old age. He painted it in 1989, just two years before his death at 91. —Frank Houston
