Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991)

Acquired from the artist
Private Collection, Ticino, Switzerland
Sale: Christie's, New York, Latin American Art, May 23, 2006, lot 21, illustrated in color

Luis Cardoza y Aragón, Rufino Tamayo, Galería de artistas mexicanos contemporáneos, Mexico City, 1934, no. 8, illustrated

This work is in beautiful condition. It is painted on a very fine piece of canvas, which is stretched on its original stretcher. The paint layer has never been cleaned or varnished. While the surface has relaxed slightly over time, it is not recommended that any attempts be made to eliminate any slight waves or uneven patches. The canvas could be tightened slightly on the stretcher, but no varnish should be applied. There are no damages or retouches. (This condition report has been provided courtesy of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.)
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

JUAN CARLOS PEREDA

For Rufino Tamayo, the still life was not just an artistic genre but the means to pictorial and iconographic experimentation. In his numerous still lifes done from 1928 onward, Tamayo set out to further develop his understanding of and talent for the genre, eventually reinventing a whole new pictorial language.

Naturaleza muerta con dominos - in a European collection - has remained out of public view for generations. It has been reproduced within Tamayo's extensive bibliography, just once in the first book devoted to the artist (1), written by Luis Cardoza y Aragón and published in 1934 by the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (Mexico).

In this painting, Tamayo's juxtaposition of disparate elements borders on the metaphysical. Although these may be suspect of a surrealist tendency, Tamayo never considered himself a member of the group. The objects appear dreamlike and enigmatic. Two light bulbs lend an eerie quality to the work, while the dominoes create open-ended associations and the strands of red string evoke a certain feeling of mystery and awe. In addition, a strange bicycle wheel complements the surreal quality of the composition.

The artist's startling array of objects in his still lifes often includes watches, electric light bulbs, telephones, dominoes, playing cards, cigarettes, musical instruments, coffee pots, and occasionally fruits but also worth mentioning, are the puzzling plaster casts of body parts which seem to have a life of their own. The artist's admiration for Cezanne's post-Cubist work is subtly alluded to in his arrangement of dominoes and in the strange electrical wire from which one of the light bulbs is suspended. Unusual, contrary to logic and reason, but imbued with poetic beauty, Tamayo's still lifes constitute an important and poetic foundation for the greatness of his artistic production.

Mexico City, 2006