Germán Gedovius (1866–1937) was a Mexican

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Biography

Gedovius was born in Mexico City in 1866 before moving as an infant with his family to San Luis Potosí. When he was sixteen years old he returned to Mexico City to attend the

Academy of San Carlos An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the ...

, where he was a pupil of Salomé Pina and

Rafael Flores Rafael Leonardo Flores (born 24 April 1991) is a Dominican footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cibao FC and the Dominican Republic national team. Honours * Cibao **CFU Club Championship (1): 2017 2017 was designated as the Intern ...

. At the age of twenty, and after four years of study at San Carlos, he was sent by his father to Germany to continue his studies and to receive medical treatment at clinics specializing in the treatment of deafness since birth. Gedovius recovered successfully after a year because of their medical efforts, and he began to speak, learning German. He moved to Munich, where he learned to draw with charcoal at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

and restarted his painting classes. Under the guidance of Master Herterich, he honed his drawing skills, and

Wilhelm von Diez Albrecht Christoph Wilhelm von Diez (17 January 1839 – 25 February 1907) was a German painter and illustrator of the Munich School. Life He was born in Bayreuth. He attended a trade school in Munich, followed by the Polytechnic School (precur ...

introduced him to color techniques. He supplemented his learning by visiting several museums in Europe, especially in Germany, Holland, Belgium, France and Italy. Influenced greatly by the Dutch Baroque painting he saw, he painted his most famous work, his self-portrait, in which he wears a Flemish outfit very similar to works made by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, ; ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He lived and worked in Haarlem, a city in which the local authority of the day frowned on religious painting in places of worship but citizens liked to decorate thei ...

. This self-portrait earned him a gold medal from the Royal Academy of Munich. After living in Europe for eleven years, Gedovius returned to Mexico in 1893. In 1903 he was awarded a teaching place in the Academy of fine arts and was given the arduous task of make that institution better-known in the Mexican art world. His friendship with

Justo Sierra Justo Sierra Méndez (January 26, 1848 – September 13, 1912), was a Mexican prominent liberal writer, historian, journalist, poet and political figure during the Porfiriato, in the second half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth ...

at the time of the reorganization of the national school of fine arts was very timely, allowed him to be part of the magisterial body along with other painters of the stature of Antonio Fabrés, Leandro Izaguirre, and

Julio Ruelas Julio Ruelas (June 21, 1870 – September 16, 1907) was a Mexican graphic artist, painter, draughtsman and printmaker. Ruelas was the principal illustrator of the '' Revista Moderna'' magazine and is most associated with Mexican symbolism. A num ...

. Gedovius taught

chiaroscuro In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...

, color, and composition beginning in the first decade of the 20th century. Among his students are

Ángel Zárraga Ángel Zárraga (y) Argüelles (August 16, 1886 in Victoria de Durango – September 22, 1946) was a Mexican painter. He was a founding member of the cultural organization '' El Ateneo de la Juventud''. His work was part of the art competition ...

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

Alberto Garduño Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic '' Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Albert ...

, and María Izquierdo among others. His most outstanding works include the already mentioned 'Self-portrait' and 'The Lady of the Violets', as well as 'Convento del Carmen', 'Tepotzotlán Sacristy', 'Poppies' and others. Gedovius continued teaching classes, both in the Academy and in a private Studio until shortly before his death in May 1937 in Mexico City.Biography
@ the Colleción Andrés Blaisten

References

Mexican portrait painters 1867 births 1937 deaths Painters from Mexico City 19th-century Mexican painters Mexican male painters 20th-century Mexican painters 19th-century Mexican male artists 20th-century Mexican male artists {{Mexico-painter-stub