Luis Arenal Bastar (1908 or 1909 – May 7, 1985) was a Mexican painter, engraver and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. He was a founding member of the

Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios The ''Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios'' (LEAR; League of Revolutionary Writers and Artists) was a Mexican association of revolutionary artists and writers. It was established in the house of its first president Leopoldo Méndez in 19 ...

, the

Taller de Gráfica Popular The ''Taller de Gráfica Popular'' (Spanish: "People's Graphic Workshop") is an artists' print collective founded in Mexico in 1937 by artists Leopoldo Méndez, Pablo O'Higgins, and Luis Arenal. The collective was primarily concerned with using ...

and the

Salón de la Plástica Mexicana Salón de la Plástica Mexicana (SPM; Hall of Mexican Fine Art) is an institution dedicated to the promotion of Mexican contemporary art. It was established in 1949 to expand the Mexican art market. Its first location was in historic center of t ...

. In addition, he created murals and other monumental works in Mexico City and

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

Life

Arenal was born in 1909 in

Teapa Teapa is a municipality in the Mexican state of Tabasco. The municipal seat is the city of Teapa. Etymology Its name comes from the Nahuatl words "Tetl'' and ''apan", which mean "river over stones" or "stone's river". It refers to one of the riv ...

Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...

in southern Mexico. His family moved to

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...

but when His father died fighting in the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, he and his mother moved to Mexico City. He attended a parochial school until age 13, when he was expelled for reading gay literature. Arenal then studied mechanical engineering for two years, and then emigrated to Los Angeles in 1924 where he studied architecture while washing gasoline cans to get by. In 1926 he returned to Mexico and worked as a translator in an advertising office. From 1927 to 1928 he studied law as well as sculpture at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. In 1929, he returned to the U.S. studying in California and working in restaurants. He began his art career exhibiting and painting murals in California then again returned to Mexico. Arenal was politically active promoting leftist causes and

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

. He went with Roberto Berdecio as a delegate to the first

American Artists' Congress The American Artists' Congress (AAC) was an organization founded in February 1936 as part of the popular front of the Communist Party USA as a vehicle for uniting graphic artists in projects helping to combat the spread of fascism. During World W ...

in New York in 1936. From 1940 to 1943 he traveled in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. In 1946, he married Macrina Rabadan, a teacher, political leader and feminist, with whom he had two children. In 1940, he participated in Siqueiros' attack on Leon Trotsky's house in

Coyoacán Coyoacán ( ; , Otomi: ) 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- ...

, which forced him to flee to the United States for a while. In addition to art, he also had architectural skills, which he mostly employed between 1945 and 1951, to build roads, houses and bridges in the state of Guerrero. He died on May 7, 1985, in Mexico City.

Career

Arenal's art career has included

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

, painting and sculpting. It began in earnest in 1930, when he began exhibiting his work in

Laguna Beach Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Located in Southern California along the Pacific Ocean, this seaside resort city has a mild year-round climate, scenic coves, and environ ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Redlands and

San Bernardino San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

. He had his first individual exhibition at the Plaza Art Center Gallery. When

David Alfaro Siqueiros David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros; December 29, 1896 – January 6, 1974) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with ...

arrived to Los Angeles in 1932, he worked with him on the murals at the Chouinard Art School. This included a

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

on cement called "La América Tropical." During this time, he was also a member of a group called the Mural Block Painters along with Jean Abel,

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...

Dean Cornwell Dean Cornwell (March 5, 1892 – December 4, 1960) was a left-handed In 1933, he returned to Mexico where his work took a more political bent. He first became the general secretary of a group called the Mexican League Against War and Fascism. In 1934, he was a founding member and first secretary of the

in 1933. He worked to create propaganda against war and fascism and supporting communism, founding the group's magazine Frente a Frente in 1935 along with Juan de la Cabada. In 1936, he went to New York for a political meeting and stayed until 1937, painting murals at

Bellevue Hospital Center Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...

and exhibiting his work. When he returned in 1937, he founded the

with

Leopoldo Méndez Leopoldo Méndez (June 30, 1902 – February 8, 1969) was one of Mexico's most important graphic artists and one of that country's most important artists from the 20th century. Méndez's work mostly focused on engraving for illustrations and othe ...

and

Pablo O'Higgins Pablo Esteban O'Higgins (born Paul Higgins Stevenson; March 1, 1904 - July 16, 1983) was an American-Mexican artist, muralist and illustrator. Early life and education Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, O'Higgins was raised there and in San Diego, ...

, taking part in all of the collective exhibitions of the organization. From 1937 through most of the 1940s, he did various murals and other monumental works. In 1939-40, he worked with Siqueiros on the murals '' Retrato de la Burguesía'', at the Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas along with

Josep Renau Josep Renau Berenguer (17 May 1907 — 11 November 1982) was an artist and communist revolutionary, notable for his propaganda work during the Spanish Civil War. Among his production, he is remarkable for his art deco period, his political pro ...

, Antonio Pujol,

Antonio Rodríguez Luna Antonio Rodríguez Luna (July 22, 1910 – 1985) was a Spanish painter who developed most of his career while in exile in Mexico during the Spanish Civil War. He began his career young, while still studying in Madrid and before the war had alread ...

and Miguel Prieto . From 1944 to 1945 he created two sculptures, one in stone and the other in concrete to complement a Siqueiros mural at the Centro de Arte Moderno in Mexico City called Cuauhtémoc contra el mito. From 1946 to 1947 he worked on construction projects in the state of

. He also created a monument in Cuetzala del Progreso, Guerrero. In 1948, he created a mural on

Masonite Masonite board Back side of a masonite board Isorel, Quartrboard, Masonite Corporation, Masonite, also called Quartboard or pressboard, is a type of engineered wood made of steam-cooked and pressure-molded wood or paper fibers. The fibers ...

panels for a rural school in

Arcelia Arcelia is a city and seat of the municipality of Arcelia, in the state of Guerrero, southern Mexico.Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI from its former name in ) is an ...

, Guerrero. He painted the stairwell of the Guerrero state government palace from 1949 to 1952. In 1949 he founded a magazine called 1945-1946, acting as the head of writing and graphic design. That same year, he also created the engravings for a book called "Estampas de Guerrero." He was a founding member of the

. In 1955, he was one of the founders of the Instituto Regional de Bellas Artes in

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

. He collaborated with David Alfaro Siqueiros on the murals at the

Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros The Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros is a cultural, political and social facility located in Mexico City as part of the World Trade Center Mexico City. It was designed and decorated by David Alfaro Siqueiros in the 1960s and hosts the largest mural w ...

from 1964 to 1970. From 1972 to 1976 he created the Cabeza de Juárez monument in

Iztapalapa Iztapalapa () is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City, located on the eastern side of the city. The borough is named after and centered on the formerly independent municipality of Iztapalapa (officially Iztapalapa de Cuitláhua ...

along with architect Lorenzo Carrasco, as his last major work. The piece is thirteen meters high and weighs almost three tons. This work was supposed to be painted by Siqueiros had he lived. Instead, Arenal and a team finished the work for Siqueiros, painting it in bright colors. Today, it has been converted into a museum. In 1977,he was named the director of the Siqueiros Workshop in Cuernavaca. Arenal Bastar died in 1985, leaving behind an unfinished sculpture of the director of the El Día newspaper. Loved Art

Artistry

Arenal was one of the most important defenders of the realism with a social/political character promoted by Mexican muralism.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arenal Bastar, Luis 20th-century Mexican painters 20th-century Mexican male artists Mexican male painters Mexican muralists Artists from Tabasco Artists from Mexico City 1900s births 1985 deaths 20th-century Mexican engravers 20th-century Mexican sculptors Federal Art Project artists 20th-century American printmakers