Rocío Maldonado facts for kids

Rocío Maldonado (born 1951) is a famous Mexican artist from Tepic, Nayarit. She became well-known in the art world during the 1980s. This was a time when a new art style called Neo-Mexicanism was popular.

Her art often explores ideas about women's rights and challenges old ideas about what it means to be a woman. People sometimes compare her work to that of other famous artists like Frida Kahlo and Maria Izquierdo. Over the years, Maldonado's art style has changed. She mainly focuses on the female body to talk about social, political, and cultural topics. She sometimes uses different materials in her large paintings. Maldonado studied art in the late 1970s and has traveled a lot. Some of her most famous artworks are Soldadito de Plomo, Las Dos Hermanas, and Éctasis de Santa Teresa.

About Rocío Maldonado

Rocío Maldonado became a recognized artist in the 1980s. This was during the Neo-Mexicanism movement, a time when Mexican artists explored their identity. Her paintings often show ideas about women's rights. They question traditional views of women in society.

Her art is often compared to the works of famous Mexican painters like Frida Kahlo and Maria Izquierdo. Maldonado's art has been shown around the world. Her exhibitions have been in places like California, Spain, Mexico, Australia, and New York. Some of her artworks are permanently displayed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Maldonado's Artistic Style

Maldonado's art style has changed over time. At first, she painted desert landscapes with bright colors. Some of her early works were similar to Neo-Expressionist art. She added Mexican cultural themes to these paintings.

Later, her art fit into the neomexicanismo trend of the 1980s. During this time, many artists explored new ideas about identity in their work. Maldonado's main focus became the female body. Her art can be seen as Feminist art because it centers on women. She uses the female body to comment on social and political issues. She also explores questions within her own culture.

Her repeated use of the female body shows her personal thoughts. She thinks about how society sees and treats women. Many of her artworks look at the idea of female beauty. They also question the impossible standards of beauty that women often face.

Maldonado is interested in traditional crafts and arte popular (folk art). Sometimes, she includes papier-mâché dolls in her art. She uses these dolls to talk about how women's roles in society can be limited. The colors she often uses are black and white, ochre (like earth), and red (like blood). Together, these two colors in her work represent "the body and the spirit."

Rocío Maldonado's Education

Rocío Maldonado was the oldest of eleven children. She found her love for art when she was only ten years old. Her father did not support her dream of becoming an artist. However, her mother encouraged her.

When she was 12, she enrolled at the Instituto de Bellas Artes y Educación (INBA) in Nayarit. Later, she studied Interior Design at the Women’s University of Guadalajara. At 24, she continued her art education at La Esmeralda Art School in Mexico City. Maldonado wanted to learn even more. She then studied at the National Art School in Xochimilco. Maldonado has traveled widely. She has visited places like the U.S. East Coast and South, Italy, Greece, Egypt, and Spain.

Famous Artworks

Soldadito de Plomo (Little Lead Soldier), 1984

Soldadito de Plomo is a painting made with acrylic on canvas. It measures 46.3 x 38.2 inches. This artwork shows one of Rocío Maldonado’s papier-mâché dolls. The doll in the painting is very large and is in the center. Two smaller male figures are also present: a farmer and a soldier on a horse. In this painting, Maldonado uses the doll to show the idea of "woman as a toy to be controlled."

Las Dos Hermanas (The Two Sisters), 1986

Las Dos Hermanas is an artwork made with acrylic and collage on canvas. It measures 71.5 x 55.88 inches. This piece shows five main objects. These are a doll, a flower vase with white lilies, a human heart, a single red rose, and a white classical sculpture of a head. The title suggests you are looking at two sisters. However, the painting shows a human-sized doll and the sculpted head of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.

Putting these two images together makes viewers think about different ideas. These include ideas about race, beauty standards, what is sacred, and what is not. The use of the doll also suggests that society sometimes sees women as objects to be controlled, without their own choices.

Éctasis de Santa Teresa (Ecstasy of Saint Theresa), 1989

The artwork Éctasis de Santa Teresa is an oil painting on canvas. It measures 29.5 x 37 x 5.5 inches. In this work, Maldonado paints her own version of Bernini’s famous sculpture, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. She only paints Theresa's head to highlight her expression. Along with Theresa's head, Maldonado also painted male torsos in a classical style.

Maldonado’s Theresa seems "more woman than saint." The artist explores the idea of women being influenced by both spiritual and worldly love. She also looks at how men might view women and ideas about beauty and power.

Exhibitions