Juan O'Gorman (July 6, 1905 – January 17, 1982) was a Mexican painter and architect.

Early life and family

Juan O'Gorman was born on 6 July 1905 in

Coyoacán Coyoacán ( , ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispani ...

, then a village to the south of

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

and now a borough of the

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they ...

, to an Irish immigrant father, Cecil and Encarnación O'Gorman (née O'Gorman). His parents were distant cousins. He had three younger siblings, Edmundo, Margarita and Tomás. Despite his father's influence, O'Gorman chose to focus on architecture early in his career. In 1927, he graduated from

Academy of San Carlos The Academy of San Carlos ( es, Academia de San Carlos) is located at 22 Academia Street in just northeast of the main plaza of Mexico City. It was the first major art academy and the first art museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1781 as th ...

, the Art and Architecture school at the National Autonomous University. His first marriage was to Nina Wright, Russian-American architect. He later married Helen Fowler, an American artist with whom he had an adopted daughter.

Career

San Ángel houses

In 1929, O'Gorman purchased a plot containing two tennis courts in Mexico City's San Ángel colonia. On the plot, O'Gorman constructed a small house and studio intended for use by his father, now known as the Cecil O'Gorman House. The building's forms were strongly influenced by the work of

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

, whose theories of architecture O'Gorman studied. O'Gorman dubbed the house the first functionalist structure in Latin America. Diego Rivera, a contemporary of O'Gorman, impressed with the design of the Cecil O'Gorman House, commissioned the architect to design a home for him and

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...

on an adjacent plot. The house was built in a similar functionalist style from 1931 to 1932. The Rivera-Kahlo house was two houses connected by a bridge. Both houses were purchased to be restored and opened to the public with the Rivera-Kahlo house operating as a museum. File:FridaDiegoSanAngel049.jpg, The 1929 Cecil O'Gorman House File:DETALLE ESCALERA CASA JUAN O GORMAN, ATRAS FACHADA CASA-ESTUDIO FRIDA KAHLO SAN ANGEL INN MEXICO DF CLAUDIA AGUILAR.jpg, The exterior staircase of the Cecil O'Gorman house. File:San-Angel-Casa-Rivera-Kahlo.jpg, The Rivera-Kahlo house as visible from the street File:FACHADA CASA-ESTUDIO DIEGO RIVERA SAN ANGEL INN MEXICO DF CLAUDIA AGUILAR.jpg, A bridge connects the two divisions of the Rivera-Kahlo house File:Vista externa del Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo.jpg, Panorama of Rivera-Kahlo house

Schools

In 1932,

Narciso Bassols Narciso Bassols García (October 22, 1897 – July 24, 1959) was a Mexican lawyer, socialist politician, ambassador to France, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom, and professor of law at the National University of Mexico. He co-founde ...

, then

Secretary of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, appointed O'Gorman to the position of Head of Architectural Office of the Ministry of Public Education, where he went on to design and build 26 elementary schools in Mexico City. The schools were built with the philosophy of "eliminating all architectural style and executing constructions technically." After 6 years of functionalist projects, O'Gorman turned away from strict functionalism later in life and worked to develop an

organic architecture Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world. This is achieved through design approaches that aim to be sympathetic and well-integrated with a site, so buildings, furn ...

, combining the influence of

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

with traditional Mexican constructions.

Central Library at Ciudad Universitaria (UNAM)

Juan O'Gorman's most celebrated work due to its creativity, construction technique, and dimensions, are the four thousand square meters murals covering the four faces of the building of the Central Library at Ciudad Universitaria at UNAM. These murals are mosaics made from millions of colored stones that he gathered all around Mexico in order to be able to obtain the different colors he needed. The north side pictures Mexico's pre-Hispanic past and the south facade its colonial one, while the east wall depicts the contemporary world, and the west shows the university and contemporary Mexico. "From the beginning, I had the idea of making mosaics of colored stones in the walls of the collections, with a technique in which I was already well experienced. With these mosaics the library would be different from the other buildings of Ciudad Universitaria, and it would be given a particular Mexican character."

Later work

O'Gorman built and designed his own house in the suburb of Pedregal, which was part built structure part natural cave, which is known as "The Cave House" from 1953 to 1956. It was decorated with mosaics throughout. It was demolished in 1969. His paintings often treated Mexican history, landscape, and legends. A mural commission in

Pátzcuaro Pátzcuaro () is a city and municipality located in the state of Michoacán. The town was founded sometime in the 1320s, at first becoming the capital of the Purépecha Empire and later its ceremonial center. After the Spanish took over, Vasco de ...

, Michoacan resulted in the huge "La historia de Michoacán" in the Biblioteca Pública Gertrudis Bocanegra in a former church. He painted the murals in the Independence Room in Mexico City's

Chapultepec Castle Chapultepec Castle ( es, Castillo de Chapultepec) is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the Nahuatl word ''chapoltepēc'' which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". The castle has ...

, and the huge

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...

s of his own 1952 Central Library of the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

, designed with Gustavo Saavedra and Juan Martínez de Velasco. In 1959, together with fellow artists,

Raúl Anguiano José Raúl Anguiano Valadez (February 26, 1915 – January 13, 2006) was a notable Mexican painter of the 20th century, part of the “second generation” of Mexican muralists which continued the tradition of Diego Rivera, José Clemente Oro ...

, Jesús Guerrero Galván, and

Carlos Orozco Romero Carlos Orozco Romero (September 3, 1896 – March 29, 1984) was a Mexican cartoonist and painter who co-founded several cultural institutions in Mexico, including the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda". His work was re ...

, O'Gorman founded the militant Unión de Pintores y Grabadores de México (Mexican Painters and Engravers Union).

Death

He died on 17 January 1982, as a result of suicide. Authorities believe the artist grew despondent after being diagnosed with a heart ailment which curtailed his work. O'Gorman was found dead at his home.

Awards

National Prize for Arts and Sciences The National Prize for Arts and Sciences ( es, Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes) is awarded annually by the Government of Mexico in six categories. It is part of the Mexican Honours System and was established in 1945. The prize is a gold medal a ...

of "fine arts", 1972.

Bibliography

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References

External links

Juan O'Gorman on artcyclopedia.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogorman, Juan Mexican muralists Modernist architects from Mexico Modern painters Functionalist architects International style architects 1905 births 1982 deaths Artists from Mexico City Suicides in Mexico Architects from Mexico City Architecture firms of Mexico National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Artists who committed suicide Mexican people of Irish descent 20th-century Mexican architects 20th-century Mexican painters Mexican male painters 1982 suicides 20th-century Mexican male artists