Lot #860: DAVID ALFARO SIQUEIROS - Cara en el infierno - Pyroxylin on wood

   

Artist: David Alfaro Siqueiros (Mexican, 1896 - 1974).
Title: "Cara en el infierno".
Medium: Pyroxylin on wood.
Date: Composed c1952.
Dimensions: Frame size: 49 5/8 x 33 11/16 in. (1260 x 856 mm). Image size: 43 3/4 x 27 13/16 in. (1111 x 706 mm).
Lot Note(s): Signed lower right, recto. Good to very good condition; the only issues are the slightly bowed wood board substrate and the paint cracking associated with paintings composed with Pyroxylin. There is no yellowing nor pigment fading in the painting. Comment(s): Siqueiros often painted with pigmented Pyroxylin, mostly used in making plastics and lacquers. Masonite, Bakelite, particle board and even asbestos sheeting are the paintings' supports, rather than canvas. His innovative use of the substance included applying the paint with a spray gun, then manipulating it while it was wet, a type of “controlled accident” that would later influence his student Jackson Pollock. Siqueiros organized a workshop for artists in New York City in 1936 and introduced a number of American artists, including Pollock, to the possibilities offered by this new synthetic resin.Image copyright © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. [30261-10-40000]