Manuel Álvarez Bravo
Encyclopedia
Manuel Álvarez Bravo (February 4, 1902 – October 19, 2002) was a Mexican
photographer.
Álvarez Bravo was born in Mexico City
on February 4, 1902. He came from a family of artists and writers, and met several other prominent artists who encouraged his work when he was young, including Tina Modotti
and Diego Rivera
. His grandfather was a photographer and his father was a patron of photography, painting and literary composition.
Manuel began studying painting and music at the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1918. He received his first photographic camera in 1923, and in 1925 began his essays on aesthetics and the technical work of photography, but did not begin professional photography until 1925. Though he was never formally a member of the surrealist movement, his work displays many characteristics of surrealism
, and he was exposed to many of its founders. His work often suggests dreams or fantasies, and he frequently photographed inanimate objects in ways that gave them humanistic qualities. In 1939 Andre Breton, the leader of the Surrealist movement, featured Alvarez Bravo's work in an exhibition of Surrealist art in Paris, bringing it into the world's artistic center. In just a single decade, from 1920 to 1930, Alvarez Bravo quickly completed a long aesthetic journey, from the pictorialism of his predecessors and contemporaries through the radical experimentation in modernist form in the early 1920’s to a fully evolved personal style by 1930. Although he did not travel to the principal centers of avant-garde photographic activity, Paris or New York, he was able to succeed at achieving an avant-garde style that gained him fame.
His work bears some similarity to the work of Clarence John Laughlin
, an American photographer who was working in New Orleans at around the same time. They both loved literature, and made references to the mythologies of their time visually and in the titles of their images. They both used old-fashioned cameras which were slower than the Leica which were becoming popular among other art photographers of the day. They also both knew Edward Weston
, so it is possible that they influenced each other's work.
Álvarez Bravo's work was often political, referencing the turmoil of the Mexican Revolution
both directly and indirectly. One of his most famous photographs, Obrero en huelga, asesinado (Striking Worker, Assassinated) depicts the face of a bloodied corpse lying in the sun is housed at The Wittliff Collections, which houses the largest archive of modern and contemporary Mexican photography in the United States www.thewiffliffcollections@txstate.edu. He associated with many revolutionary artists and writers, but did not let politics overwhelm the personal aspects of his work; he continued to create beautiful, dreamlike, photographs of life in Mexico until his death in 2002.
He is considered a profoundly influential figure in contemporary Mexican and Latin American Photography, and his work is widely published around the world.
who became a prominent scholar of Mexico’s ancient cultures. Together they had a son and daughter.
He was also married to Mexican photographer, Lola Alvarez Bravo
well-known in her own right. In his last decades, he was married to Mme. Colette Alvarez Bravo, a French photographer also revered in her own right.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
photographer.
Álvarez Bravo was born in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
on February 4, 1902. He came from a family of artists and writers, and met several other prominent artists who encouraged his work when he was young, including Tina Modotti
Tina Modotti
Tina Modotti was an Italian photographer, model, actress, and revolutionary political activist.- Early life :Modotti was born Assunta Adelaide Luigia Modotti Mondini in Udine, Friuli, Italy...
and Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
. His grandfather was a photographer and his father was a patron of photography, painting and literary composition.
Manuel began studying painting and music at the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1918. He received his first photographic camera in 1923, and in 1925 began his essays on aesthetics and the technical work of photography, but did not begin professional photography until 1925. Though he was never formally a member of the surrealist movement, his work displays many characteristics of surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, and he was exposed to many of its founders. His work often suggests dreams or fantasies, and he frequently photographed inanimate objects in ways that gave them humanistic qualities. In 1939 Andre Breton, the leader of the Surrealist movement, featured Alvarez Bravo's work in an exhibition of Surrealist art in Paris, bringing it into the world's artistic center. In just a single decade, from 1920 to 1930, Alvarez Bravo quickly completed a long aesthetic journey, from the pictorialism of his predecessors and contemporaries through the radical experimentation in modernist form in the early 1920’s to a fully evolved personal style by 1930. Although he did not travel to the principal centers of avant-garde photographic activity, Paris or New York, he was able to succeed at achieving an avant-garde style that gained him fame.
His work bears some similarity to the work of Clarence John Laughlin
Clarence John Laughlin
Clarence John Laughlin was a United States photographer best known for his surrealist photographs of the U.S. South.Laughlin was born in to a middle class family in Lake Charles, Louisiana. His rocky childhood, southern heritage, and interest in literature influenced his work greatly...
, an American photographer who was working in New Orleans at around the same time. They both loved literature, and made references to the mythologies of their time visually and in the titles of their images. They both used old-fashioned cameras which were slower than the Leica which were becoming popular among other art photographers of the day. They also both knew Edward Weston
Edward Weston
Edward Henry Weston was a 20th century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers…" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." Over the course of his forty-year career Weston photographed an increasingly expansive set of...
, so it is possible that they influenced each other's work.
Álvarez Bravo's work was often political, referencing the turmoil of the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
both directly and indirectly. One of his most famous photographs, Obrero en huelga, asesinado (Striking Worker, Assassinated) depicts the face of a bloodied corpse lying in the sun is housed at The Wittliff Collections, which houses the largest archive of modern and contemporary Mexican photography in the United States www.thewiffliffcollections@txstate.edu. He associated with many revolutionary artists and writers, but did not let politics overwhelm the personal aspects of his work; he continued to create beautiful, dreamlike, photographs of life in Mexico until his death in 2002.
He is considered a profoundly influential figure in contemporary Mexican and Latin American Photography, and his work is widely published around the world.
Personal life
Alvarez Bravo married Doris HeydenDoris Heyden
Doris Heyden was a prominent scholar of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, particularly those of central Mexico. She was born in East Orange, New Jersey, United States...
who became a prominent scholar of Mexico’s ancient cultures. Together they had a son and daughter.
He was also married to Mexican photographer, Lola Alvarez Bravo
Lola Alvarez Bravo
Lola Álvarez Bravo was a Mexican photographer. She was a key figure in Mexico's post-revolution renaissance....
well-known in her own right. In his last decades, he was married to Mme. Colette Alvarez Bravo, a French photographer also revered in her own right.