Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991)

Olga and Rufino Tamayo Collection, Mexico City  
Marlborogh Gallery, Inc. New York 
Private Collection, Monterrey N.L.

Moscow, The USSR Union of Artists, TSentralnyĭ Dom khudozhnika na Krymskom valu, August 29-October 1, 1989, no. 75, p. 118, illustrated in color
Oslo, Munch-Museet, Rufino Tamayo, Malerier Og Grafikk Fra Arene 1925-1989, October 26, 1989-January 21, 1990, no. 81, illustrated in color 
Leningrad, The State Hermitage, Tamayo, paintings and graphics 1925-1989, February 15, 1990-March 15, 1990, no. 75, p. 118
Berlin, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Rufino Tamayo, 1990, no. 154. p. 3134
New York, Marlborough Gallery, Inc., Rufino Tamayo, Recent Paintings, 1980-1990, September 26-October 16, 1990, no. 23, p. 51, illustrated in color
Monterrey, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Hechizo de Oaxaca, 1991, p. 201, illustrated in color
Nagoya, Nagoya City Art Museum, October 9-December 12, 1993; Kamakura, The Museum of Modern Art, December 18, 1993-February 5, 1994; Kyoto, The National Museum of Modern Art, February 5-March 21, 1994; Rufino Tamayo Retrospectiva, no. 81, p. 106, illustrated in color
São Paulo, XXII International Biennial, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, October 12-December 10, 1994, pp. 380-381, illustrated in color
Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, February 17-May 27, 2007; Miami, Miami Art Museum, June 22-September 16, 2007; Mexico City, Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, October 26, 2007-January 21, 2008; Tamayo, A Modern Icon Reinterpreted, no. 138, p. 404, illustrated in color

Rufino Tamayo, Imágen y Obra Escogida, Mexico City, no. 95, 1991, no. 9, illustrated in color
Teresa del Conde, et.al., Tamayo, Mexico City, 1998, p. 118, illustrated in color
Octavio Paz, Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, 2003, no. 35, illustrated in color
Teresa del Conde, et.al., Rufino Tamayo, México, 2011, p. 206, illustrated in color

This work is in perfect condition. A very small amount of frame abrasion is visible on the right edge, and there may be very sight losses beneath the frame on the extreme edges. There is no visible damage, restoration or instability. The edges may need some attention if the frame is to be changed, but otherwise the work should be hung as is. (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.

Painted at the twilight of his life, Rufino Tamayo's El fisgón (1988) belongs to a group of tantalizing paintings rooted on colorful metaphors and ingenious imagery; popular Mexican expressions in lieu of a candid language concerning sexuality.

Communicated through suggestive gestures, carnal desires that are often either entirely denied or suppressed by their proprietors are collected and decoded by Tamayo into aesthetic arguments. The present painting, an eloquent example of this accepted practice, reveals an evocative composition where the archetypal figure of a lady in the process of undressing is surprised by a libidinous voyeur who looks with indiscreet and insistent delight into her bedroom.

The atmosphere of the room has been impregnated with a bright pink atmosphere, further evoking the desire of the voyeur and the 'apparent' shame of the one observed. The warm, sensual atmosphere of the interior contrasts with the cooler gray sky. Outside the indispensable moon, a well known plastic symbol of eroticism associated with all that is pleasurable. In the forefront, a chair, a recurrent motif from Tamayo's youth, unfolds the woman's clothing while retaining her sculptural volume. 

We wish to thank Juan Carlos Pereda for his kind assistance in the cataloguing of this work.