Dr. Atl (Gerardo Murillo) (1875-1964)

oil on cardboard

Margarita Urueta, Mexico
Norman Bardavid, Mexico City
Private Collection, Mexico

Mexico City, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, 45 Autorretratos de Pintores Mexicanos Siglos XVIII al XX, 1947, p. 47, illustrated
Mexico City, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, El Mito de dos Volcanes, Popocatepetl, Iztaccihuatl, February-July, 2005, p. 104, no. 145, illustrated in color
Mexico City, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, De Artesanos y Arlequines, July, 2005-January, 2007, p. 70, illustrated in color
Austin, Texas, Mexic-Arte Museum, From Revolution to Renaissance, May, 2007-January, 2008, n.n.

Antonio Luna Arroyo, El Dr. Atl, Sinopsis de su Vida y su Pintura, Mexico City, 1952, Editorial Cultura, p. 209, illustrated
Justino Fernández, Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo de México, Mexico City, 1952, Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, p. 229, no. 267, illustrated
Luis Cardoza y Aragon, Pintura Mexicana Contemporánea, Mexico City, 1953, Imprenta Universitaria, no. 1, illustrated
Alberto Beltrán, 50 Artistas Opinan sobre el Arte, Mexico City, 1967, Secretaría de Educación Pública, p. 109, illustrated
Justino Fernández, Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo de México, Mexico City, 1993, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, no. 275, illustrated
Beatríz Espejo, Dr. Atl: El Paisaje como Pasión, Mexico City, 1994, Fondo Editorial de la Plástica Mexicana, p. 56, illustrated in color
Martha Poblett Miranda, Gerardo Murillo, Dr. Atl, Mexico City, 2004, Editorial Planeta Mexicana, p. 121, illustrated

The painting seems to be restored in a small area at the upper left corner and in the center right area. There are small paint losses along the center of the upper edge. Overall both sides are in very good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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There is a pastel and charcoal drawing on the reverse of this work.

Born in Guadalajara in 1875, the painter, writer and activist, Gerardo Murillo was an important member of Mexico's twentieth-century artistic "Golden Age" during the 1930s and 40s. He traveled to Italy and Paris and adopted the name Dr. Atl which is Nahuatl for "water."

A fiercely independent character, Dr. Atl was fascinated by the rugged mountains and volcanoes of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl that surround Mexico City. He often depicted these in his landscapes in a technique he devised comprised of a mixture of oil paint and pastel which he called "Atl color." Atl witnessed the birth of the volcano Paricutín in 1943, which emerged day by day from a cornfield in the Mexican state of Michoacán. The Paricutín became one of the most important and recurrent motifs in Atl's paintings.