Rufino Tamayo (August 26, 1899 – June 24, 1991) was a Mexican painter. He was a Zapotec Native American and was born in Oaxaca, Oaxaca.

In his paintings, Tamayo expressed what he believed was the traditional Mexico and did not follow the more politically based paintings that many of his contemporaries such as José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, Oswaldo Guayasamin and David Alfaro Siqueiros did. Tamayo and another artist, Lea Remba, were the first artists to create a new type of printed artwork called "mixografía". This consisted of artwork printed on paper but with depth and texture. One of their most famous mixografías is entitled Dos Personajes Atacados por Perros ("Two Characters Attacked by Dogs").

Tamayo also painted murals, some of which – including Nacimiento de la nacionalidad ("Birth of the Nationality"), 1952 – are displayed inside Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes opera house. His art has also been shown in U.S. museums such as The Philips Collection in Washington and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

The Tamayo Contemporary Art Museum (Museo Tamayo de Arte Contemporáneo), located on Paseo de la Reforma as it crosses Chapultepec Park, was opened in 1981 as a repository for the collections that Rufino and his wife, Olga, acquired during their lifetimes and ultimately gifted to the nation.

In 1988 he was the recipient of the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor.

External links

• Rufino Tamayo: Biography and paintings
• Museo Tamayo (in Spanish)

1899 births | 1991 deaths | Mexican painters | Modern painters | People from Oaxaca | Recipients of the Belisario Domínguez Medal

Rufino Tamayo | Rufino Tamayo | Rufino Tamayo | Rufino Tamayo