Rufino Tamayo (Mexican, 1899–1991)
Written by Benjamin Péret (French, 1899-1959)
Air Mexicain
INV-2715
Rufino Tamayo (Mexican, 1899–1991)
Written by Benjamin Péret (French, 1899-1959)1952
Surrealism20th Centurylithographbook
Date
1952
Medium
Illustrated book with four color lithographs on BFK de Rives paper
Dimensions
25.2 × 19.7 × 0.9 cm (9 15/16 × 7 13/16 × 3/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by the Friends of the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries
Air Mexicain, a collaboration between the Mexican visual artist Rufino Tamayo and the French poet Benjamin Péret, recounts the history of Mexico from Mesoamerican civilizations before European colonization to the Mexican Revolution in the early twentieth century. In 1941, Péret fled to Mexico with his wife, the Surrealist painter Remedios Varo, after being imprisoned by the French government for his affiliation with the Communist party. It was during his time in Mexico that Péret met Tamayo and developed an interest in Mesoamerican culture, mythology, and history; these subjects inspired the poem that Péret wrote upon his return to France. Tamayo was known for using a variety of graphic techniques and a selective, vibrant color palette inspired by the Mexican landscape, which can be seen in his illustrations for Air Mexicain.
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