Fanny Rabel facts for kids

Fanny Rabel (born Fanny Rabinovich) was a famous Polish-Mexican artist. She was born in Poland on August 27, 1922, and passed away in Mexico City on November 25, 2008. Fanny Rabel is known as the first modern female muralist in Mexico. She was also one of the youngest artists involved in the Mexican muralism movement.

Her family moved to Mexico from Europe in 1938. Fanny studied art at a school called Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda". There, she became good friends with the famous artist Frida Kahlo. Fanny was the only girl in a special group of Frida Kahlo's students called "Los Fridos." She also learned from and helped other famous artists like Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Fanny Rabel created many murals during her career. Her most important mural is "Ronda en el tiempo" at the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City. She also painted pictures on canvas and often showed children in her art. Fanny Rabel was one of the first artists of her time to focus on environmental topics.

Fanny Rabel's Early Life and Education

Fanny Rabinovich was born in Poland on August 27, 1922. Her parents were Polish-Jewish and came from a family of traveling actors. When Fanny was a child, she loved to draw. Her daughter, Paloma, shared that Fanny would draw dolls she saw in store windows. Her family was very artistic and cultured. Her sister, Malka, even became a theater critic.

Moving to Mexico and Art School

In 1929, Fanny's family moved to Paris, France, where she first went to school. Later, in 1938, they moved to Mexico. In Mexico, Fanny attended the Escuela Nocturna para Trabajadores. There, she took classes in drawing and engraving.

Fanny Rabel was against Nazism and Fascism. These were political ideas that caused a lot of harm in the world. Because of her strong beliefs, she joined a mural project in 1940. This mural was called Retrato de la Burguesía (Portrait of the Bourgeoisie). It was painted for the Mexican Electricians' Union building in Mexico City.

Learning from Famous Artists

Fanny met a group of Spanish artists who were living in Mexico. One of them, Antonio Pujol, invited her to join a mural project. This project was led by famous artists like David Alfaro Siqueiros. The mural showed sad scenes, including children who were killed by Nazi bombings in Spain.

In 1942, Fanny joined the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda". She took classes with José Chávez Morado and Frida Kahlo. Fanny and Frida became very close friends. Fanny was one of only four students in Frida Kahlo’s special group called "Los Fridos." She was the only girl in this group. The other students were Guillermo Monroy, Arturo García Bustos, and Arturo Estrada. Fanny also learned from other great teachers like Diego Rivera.

During her career, Fanny changed her last name from Rabinovich to Rabel. She married a doctor named Jaime Woolrich. They had two children, Abel Woolrich and Paloma Woolrich, who both became actors. Fanny lived in Mexico City for many years. Towards the end of her life, she lost most of her memory. She passed away on November 25, 2008, and was buried in the Panteón Israelita cemetery.

Fanny Rabel's Artistic Career

Fanny Rabel had her first art show in 1945. It featured twenty-four oil paintings, thirteen drawings, and eight engravings. The famous artist Frida Kahlo wrote the introduction for this show. In 1955, Fanny had another show at the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. Later, she had a big exhibition at the museum of the Palacio de Bellas Artes. This show celebrated fifty years of her artwork. Her last exhibition was in 2007 at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana.

Exhibitions and Collections

Fanny Rabel's art can be found in collections in more than fifteen countries. These include important places like the New York Public Library and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Her work is also in the National Library in Paris and the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City.

Mural Painting and Collaborations

Fanny Rabel is known as the first female muralist in Mexico. She helped Diego Rivera paint frescos for the National Palace. She also learned from David Alfaro Siqueiros. Her most important mural is "Ronda en el tiempo." She created this mural from 1964 to 1965 at the Museo Nacional de Antropología.

Fanny also painted other murals, such as:

• "Sobrevivencia, Alfabetización" in Coyoacán (1952)
• "Sobrevivencia de un pueblo" at the Centro Deportivo Israelita (1957)
• "Hacia la salud" for the Hospital Infantil de México (1982)
• "La familia mexicana" at the Registro Público de la Propiedad (1984)

She also worked with other artists on murals at the La Rosita pulque bar and the Casa de la Madre Soltera. Fanny was a member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana and the Taller de Gráfica Popular. She joined both groups in 1950.

Recognizing Her Work

Fanny's friends suggested her for the Premio Nacional de Arte (National Art Prize). Even though she didn't win, her art has been honored with many special exhibits. These shows happened both before and after she passed away. In 2007, there was a show called "La Fanny de los Fridos" at the House of the First Print Shop in the Americas. After she died, the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana held a show called "Retrospectiva in Memoriam, Fanny Rabel."

Fanny Rabel's Artistic Style

Fanny Rabel is seen as the first modern female muralist in Mexico. She also created important works in painting, engraving, drawing, and ceramic sculpture. Her art style has been called poetic Surrealism and Neo-expressionism. It is also part of the Escuela Mexicana de Pintura, which was a major art movement in Mexico. Fanny was one of the youngest muralists in this movement.

Themes in Her Art

Fanny Rabel was more interested in showing human pain than happiness. Like other Mexican muralists, she cared deeply about social unfairness. However, she told artist Leopoldo Méndez that she couldn't create angry, "combative" artworks. Méndez convinced her to stay in the Taller de Gráfica Popular. He said that softer, more gentle images are also important for social change.

Children with Mexican faces often appear in her art. They usually look like they are between laughter and tears. These are often poor children, representing people who are struggling in the country. But Fanny did not paint extreme sadness or tears. Many of her works compare different social classes in Mexico, often including indigenous people. She believed the gentleness in her art was "for the revolution." She also drew a pencil portrait of Frida Kahlo, which was shown near the end of her life.

Fanny Rabel was one of the first artists of her time to explore themes about the environment. She also painted about the changes in Mexico City, and against too much focus on technology and business. In 1979, she started a series of paintings called "Réquiem por una ciudad" (Requiem for a City). These paintings showed what she saw as the destruction of Mexico City by smog, traffic, and garbage.

Some of these works include:

• "Diálogo capitalino"
• "Muerte citadina"
• "Los peatones van al cielo"
• "El profundo drenaje"
• "La rebelión de los peatones"
• "México, D.F."

The "Réquiem para una ciudad" series in 1979 looked at three main ideas: people not communicating enough, traffic, and pollution. "La rebelión de los peatones" (The Rebellion of the Pedestrians) in 1987 showed her concern about too many cars in the city.

See also

In Spanish: Fanny Rabel para niños