Rufino Tamayo

An Oaxacan artist born in 1899, he began his studies at the National School of Fine Arts in 1911. He is regarded as one of the first artists to define modernity within Mexican painting. Alongside muralism, his artistic interests included experimentation with different forms of graphic reproduction. This curiosity led him to develop a new genre of multiple artworks, which he called the “biografía”.

During his lifetime, he exhibited his work in Mexico as well as in Paris, London and Rome, among other cultural capitals of Europe. In 1981, he donated his international art collection to the nation, forming what is now the permanent collection of the Museo Tamayo de Arte Contemporáneo. He passed away in 1991.