Alfonso Michel facts for kids

Alfonso Michel (born 1897, died 1957) was a famous Mexican painter. He lived at the same time as the Mexican muralism movement. But his unique art style made him a pioneer for a new group of artists called the Generación de la Ruptura.

Life of Alfonso Michel

Michel was born in the state of Colima, Mexico. His family was wealthy and owned many coconut farms. He was born in 1897, even though he sometimes said 1906. He moved to Guadalajara with his father when he was young.

Alfonso loved two things most: art and the sea. He started drawing as a child and began painting when he was a teenager. His formal schooling stopped when he was fifteen. In 1922, his family sent him to San Francisco. There, he took painting classes and worked in an art studio.

When he came back to Mexico, he became friends with many artists. These included Jesús Reyes Ferreira, Juan Soriano, Oliviero, Ricardo Martinez, and Jesús Guerrero Galván. He also knew painters like Rufino Tamayo, Manuel Rodríguez Lozano, Roberto Montenegro, and Agustín Lazo.

Michel loved to travel, especially by the sea. His first trip to Europe was in 1916 with his family. Later, he traveled to places like Buenos Aires, Paris, Berlin, and Monte Carlo. He lived in the Montparnasse area of Paris for a few years starting in 1924. He went there with Agustín Lazo to study art. His brother Jorge helped him financially. Michel lived a simple life, sometimes selling his belongings to get by. His last trip to Europe was from 1949 to 1951, visiting France, Spain, and Italy.

His time in Europe introduced him to a free-spirited way of life. He became known for being imaginative and a bit unusual. He was often tanned from the sun and carried his things in a bag.

Michel's closest friends among Mexican painters were Juan Soriano, Manuel and Lola Alvarez Bravo, and Rufino and Olga Tamayo.

Alfonso Michel was often in poor health. He passed away in 1957 in Mexico City. He had been planning to return to France.

Alfonso Michel's Art Career

When Michel returned to Mexico from Europe in 1930, he began his art career. In 1932, he painted a mural at the Salón de Artes Plásticas at the Universidad de Guadalajara. After this, he worked as an extra in a film. Then he went back to his family's farm in Colima.

In 1936, he met Inés Amor. She encouraged him to take his art career more seriously. In 1942, he moved to Mexico City to paint again. He had his first solo art show at age 45 at the Galería de Arte Mexicano. He also showed his work in a big group exhibition called Mexican Painting in New York in 1946.

His most active time as an artist was from 1942 until his death in 1957. However, because of breaks in his career and health issues, he only created about 100 pieces of art.

Despite this, Michel is considered the most important artist from the state of Colima. This is according to the University of Colima. He was also an early member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana.

Years after he died, the Museo de Arte Moderno held a special show in 1991. It was a tribute to him and showed the largest collection of his works. The University of Colima also created an art gallery named after him. It is called the Pinacoteca Universitaria Alfonso Michel. It opened in 1996 in the city of Colima, Colima. It has over 1,000 artworks by many artists. These include Rafael Coronel, Carlos Mérida, José Luis Cuevas, Sofía Bassi, Alberto Gironella, Federico Cantú, Marcos Huerta, and Juan Manuel de la Rosa. It also features artists from Colima like Gabriel de la Mora and Rafael Mesina.

His home state also started the Alfonso Michel Cultural Festival. It happens every October in different places in the state. These include Colima city, Armería, Coquimatlán, and Manzanillo. The city of Guadalajara also holds an art event named after him. It is called the Bienal de Pintura de Occidente Alfonso Michel.

Alfonso Michel's Art Style

Michel traveled in Europe in the 1920s and lived in Paris to study art. He did not find one specific teacher he liked. Instead, he developed his own style. This style was his way of reinterpreting the art movements happening in Europe at the time.

His painting style was influenced by artists like Cézanne and Picasso (during his neo-Classical period). He was also interested in Braque and the unique, dream-like paintings of De Chirico and Alberto Savinio.

Michel's art often showed landscapes of the Colima coastline and many portraits. Many of his works expressed deep feelings like thinking about the past, sadness, and pain. He had two main periods of art creation. The period from 1942 until his death showed his most mature work. His art compositions were grand and almost like the Baroque style. He often used bright, contrasting colors.

Michel lived at the same time as the Mexican muralism artists. This movement focused on nationalist art. However, Michel did not join this movement. He was sometimes criticized for being "too European." But art critics like Jorge Juan Crespo and Margarita Nelken, and writer Carlos Monsiváis, defended his work. Rufino Tamayo even called Michel one of the best painters in Mexico.

Michel's artistic ideas grew after he returned to Mexico from France. He studied the works of Diego Rivera, María Izquierdo, Rufino Tamayo, Agustín Lazo, Cézanne, Picasso, and Chirico. He was especially influenced by Tamayo and Picasso. His unique style for his time made him a pioneer for the Generación de la Ruptura. This new art movement became very popular in the 1960s.

See also

In Spanish: Alfonso Michel para niños