Manuel Rodríguez Lozano (December 4, 1896 – March 27, 1971) was a Mexican painter, known for his “melancholy” depiction of Mexico rather than the more dominant political or festive one of the Mexican muralism movement. This is especially true of his “white stage” which is marked by cold colors and tragic scenes focusing on human figures which are skeletal or ghost-like. His work influenced Mexican films such as La perla.
Life
Manuel Rodríguez Lozano was born in Mexico City, with his birth year placed between 1894 and 1897. He was from a wealthy family, the son of Manuel Z. Rodríguez and Sara Lozano, who were interested in art and music and entertained visitors such as poet Amado Nervo.
When he was eleven, he enlisted in the military service and took examinations to enter the diplomatic corps. However, he eventually abandoned both. He then began to paint on his own in 1910, moving on to attend the Academy of San Carlos under teachers such as Germán Gedovius and Alfredo Ramos Martínez. However, he left the school after a short time for unknown reasons.
In 1913, Rodríguez Lozano married Carmen Mondragón, later known as Nahui Ollín. The two met at a dance and she became smitten with him. At first he was not interested but her father, General Manuel Mondragón, was a powerful man politically, and this changed the artist’s mind. However, shortly after the marriage, General Mondragón was involved in the Decena tragica and the assassination of Francisco I. Madero, which forced the entire family into exile into Europe for eight years. At first the couple lived in Paris, but with the outbreak of World War I, the family moved to Spain. His time in Europe, especially Paris, put him in touch with avant garde artists such as Matisse, Braque and Picasso as well as writers such as André Salmon, Jean Cassou and Andre Lothe, who influenced his art. However, his relationship with Nahui Ollín was problematic. She did not like his bohemian friends and accused him of being a homosexual. The couple had a child in 1914, but the infant died shortly after birth. Rodríguez Lozano stated that his wife smothered the child but her family denied it. The couple separated when Rodríguez Lozano returned to Mexico in 1921.
In the early 1920s, Rodríguez Lozano had an amorous relationship with Abraham Ángel, who was also his student. Ángel died in 1924 from a cocaine overdose, which may have been intentionally suicidal.
In 1928, he began a relationship with Antonieta Rivas Mercado. She was in love with him, ignoring his relationships with men. She did much for his career but the two never became sexual. She committed suicide in 1931. The deaths of his child, Ángel, and Rivas Mercado, along with his incarceration in 1940, left scars and made his art darker.
Rodríguez Lozano died in Mexico City on March 27, 1971, from heart failure. He was buried at the Panteón de Dolores in Mexico City.
Career
After Rodríguez Lozano returned from Europe to Mexico in 1921, he exhibited his work at the Department of Fine Arts and in San Carlos. The following year, out of necessity, he accepted a position as a drawing teacher for elementary schools, introducing a technique developed by Adolfo Best Maugard .
In 1923, Roberto Montenegro introduced Manuel to Francisco Sergio Iturbe, who became his patron and protector.
During the early 1920s, he began to teach two students, Abraham Ángel and Julio Castellanos, as well as promote their artwork. In 1925, the three traveled to Argentina to present at the Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes. The three then traveled to Paris to exhibit at the Cercle Paris Amirique Latine. Along with these two he had two other important students, Tebo and Nefero.
In 1928, he began a relationship with Antonieta Rivas Mercado, the daughter of a prominent architect. The two founded the Ulises Theater, the headquarters for the Contemporáneos group and an important meeting place for artists and intellectuals such as Salvador Novo, Isabela Corona and Celestino Gorostiza. The organization not only put on plays for which Rodríguez did set design, it also edited and published books such as Dama de corazones by Xavier Villaurrutia and Los hombres que disperse la danza by Andrés Henestrosa. At the request of Carlos Chavez, Rodríguez Lozano convinced Antonieta to help form council to found a Mexican symphony orchestra, and he founded El ballet de la paloma azul.
From 1932 to 1933, he painted Los tableros de la muerte, commissioned by Iturbe, and in 1935 he finished Il Verdaccio, one of his most important works.