Museo Nacional de Arte hosts retrospective of painter Ángel Zárraga

The Museo Nacional de Arte (Munal) in Mexico City has inaugurated ‘Ángel Zárraga: Los ideales del arte’, a retrospective exhibition featuring approximately 80 pieces from the renowned Mexican painter. The exhibition aims to revalue Zárraga’s work, which has traditionally been marginalized from post-revolutionary Mexican nationalism due to its perceived association with bourgeois tastes and its departure from political militancy.

Curated by David Caliz Manjarrez, the show explores Zárraga’s stylistic evolution through five thematic nuclei: ‘Entre la tradición y la vanguardia’, ‘La radicalidad cubista’, ‘El retorno al orden’, ‘El esplendor del cuerpo’, and ‘Otro lenguaje mural’. The collection highlights his time in Europe and his dialogue with continental painting, moving beyond strictly nationalist interpretations.

Key works on display include ‘Exvoto de San Sebastián’, ‘La futbolista rubia’, and ‘La adoración de los Reyes Magos’. The exhibition emphasizes Zárraga’s unique focus on spirituality and the human body, presenting a counterpoint to the nationalist styles of contemporaries like Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros.