Carlos Orozco Romero facts for kids

Carlos Orozco Romero (born September 3, 1896 – died March 29, 1984) was a famous Mexican cartoonist and painter. He helped start many important art schools and groups in Mexico. One of these was the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda", a well-known art school. His amazing artwork earned him a spot in the Academia de Artes and the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. In 1980, he received Mexico's highest art award, the Premio Nacional de Arte (National Art Prize).

Life of a Mexican Artist

Carlos Orozco Romero was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. His father was a tailor who supported Carlos's love for art. Instead of sending him to a formal art school, his father hired a painter named Luis de la Torre. This teacher was a bit unusual, focusing on real-life experience over strict rules. Carlos spent a lot of time painting still life pictures and scenes from the countryside. He also learned from another painter, José Vizcarra.

When he was just thirteen, Carlos left home and started drawing cartoons to support himself. He joined a group of artists and thinkers called Centro Bohemio. There, he met other important artists like David Alfaro Siqueiros. At sixteen, he moved to Mexico City. This city was a hub for the Mexican muralism movement, which was very exciting for young artists.

In Mexico City, Carlos met María Marín, who later became his wife. They got married in 1920, even though they didn't have much money. They even lived for a short time in a room at the Museo Regional de Guadalajara.

Soon after marrying, Carlos received a special scholarship from the state of Jalisco. This allowed him to travel and study art in Europe. He visited Belgium and France and lived for a while in Madrid, Spain. There, he met other artists and writers. However, he missed Mexico and returned home in 1923 because his wife was expecting their first child. Back in Guadalajara, he and María both learned engraving from a Peruvian artist named José Sabogal. Years later, their daughter found one of María's engravings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York!

Carlos traveled again later in his life. In 1939, he worked and showed his art in New York for seven months with a special Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1957, he visited Spain, Italy, France, and Switzerland.

Carlos Orozco Romero passed away at the age of 87. He left behind his wife María and their two daughters, Gabriela and Arcelia.

Carlos Orozco Romero's Career

Carlos Orozco Romero started his art career drawing cartoons for newspapers. First, he worked for papers in Guadalajara, then for bigger national newspapers in Mexico City. His cartoons appeared in famous publications like El Heraldo de México and El Universal. He even took over as the main cartoonist for El Heraldo when the famous artist José Clemente Orozco left. In the 1920s and 1930s, his drawings also appeared in books.

After returning from his first trip to Europe, Carlos also painted some murals. He worked on a mural for the Jalisco State Museum and Library in Guadalajara. Sadly, these murals were later destroyed when the building was changed. However, one mural called Hombre aprisionando la tierra (Man Trapping the Earth) from 1926 still exists in Guadalajara.

Carlos began showing his paintings in the 1920s, both in Mexico and the United States. His first solo art show was in 1928 at the Palace of Iturbide in Mexico City. This show was important because it marked his shift from being mainly a cartoonist to becoming a painter. He showed his art in many places, including The Art Institute of Chicago. Later, he had a big show at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in 1951. His art was also featured at the 1958 Venice Biennale, a very important international art event. His last exhibitions were in 1978 and 1980.

Carlos Orozco Romero also played a big role in creating and leading important art institutions in Mexico. In 1928, he helped start the art gallery at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. He directed it for several years, helping to promote other artists like Rufino Tamayo. He also helped create the School of Dance at the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura. After teaching for many years, Carlos helped found the famous La Esmeralda art school in 1946. He taught there for over twenty years, guiding many young artists who became famous themselves. From 1962 to 1964, he was the director of the Museo de Arte Moderno.

His contributions to art were recognized with memberships in the Academia de Artes and Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. He also received the highest art award in Mexico, the Premio Nacional de Arte, in 1980.

Carlos Orozco Romero's Art Style

Carlos Orozco Romero created many different types of art. He painted pictures on easels, designed sets and costumes for plays, and illustrated books. He was part of a group of talented artists from Jalisco, Mexico, who influenced each other.

His early paintings showed strong academic skills, starting with detailed drawings and moving to watercolors and oil paintings. His time in Europe in the early 1920s introduced him to new art styles like Cubism and Surrealism. He also admired the works of famous Spanish painters like Diego Velázquez and Francisco Goya. However, he never simply copied these styles. He always found his own unique way of painting. He was also very interested in ancient Mexican art from before the Spanish conquest.

In 1939, while in New York, Carlos painted a work called Los hilos (The Threads). This painting is considered a key work that showed his unique style. It had the special qualities that would define his art from then on.

His paintings often featured portraits, including beautiful and meaningful ones of his wife. While he learned landscape painting early on, he stopped for a while. He returned to painting landscapes in the 1940s, often including buildings and giving them a dreamlike or surreal feeling.

See also

In Spanish: Carlos Orozco para niños