Assignment 5b

La Nube- (http://redescolar.ilce.edu.mx/redescolar/publicaciones/publi_quepaso/gerardo_murillo.htm)






La Nube, which means the cloud in English, was painted by Doctor Atl in 1934. Doctor Atl, whose real name was Gerardo Murillo, was a painter in Mexico for most of his life. He lived in Europe for a while, but lived in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution and when the new constitution was created. He worked on his art as well as politics during the Revolution, and he impacted Mexico in many ways.

La Nube shows the Mexican landscape with clouds, hills, fields, a lake, and some villages. Everything is green, luscious, beautiful, and calm. It looks like an area that anyone would want to be in, because they could relax and be happy. Doctor Atl used bright and strong colors, but not necessarily the natural color. The sky is as dark blue as the night in some places, and in others it is light blue with touches of pink and purple. The hills in the distance are also blue and purple. His use of color is Expressionist because the colors did not have to be natural, and he used colors more to express emotion and symbolism. He distorted lines and shapes to create a more dramatic and bold landscape. I also read that he used a waxy pigment in his paintings that created a different texture, but I could not find if he used it with this painting. With the color, lines, and shapes all combined, he created landscapes that encouraged Mexican nationalism.

The painting is about Mexico's greatness, so that people could be proud to be Mexican. After Mexico received its independence, art was still mostly all in European style. Afterwards, Mexican artists began creating their own styles and subjects. Mexico developed its own art styles that focused on strength, Mexican subjects, and Mexican values. Doctor Atl was one of the first Mexican artists to really encourage artists to be proud of the their country in their art. Known as artistic nationalism, it is an art form that pays attention to the average citizen and lifestyle. Commonly that is done by showing the working class, in Mexico especially agricultural laborers, poverty, and homelife. Doctor Atl supported the artistic nationalism movement and used it in his own work. In La Nube, he showed how beautiful Mexico is and life in agricultural villages.

I chose this work because it is very beautiful, and the style is very unique. I was attracted to all the colors and flowing lines that create the beautiful landscape. I think that this work shows what Mexico was like at the time, because it was independent and changing. People were earning more rights from the Constitution of 1917, which did not have its laws really enforced until the 1930's. I think of the pride that people must have felt for their country which was making so many improvements. Life was looking up for many people, and artists like Doctor Atl could look at Mexico and see all the beauty that it had available for their art. I feel like it is showing the peace of mind that Doctor Atl felt because of the improvements, and I see a place that I would love to live in the painting. Doctor Atl shows the peaceful and beautiful Mexico that deserves the pride of those who live in it.

The painting is called "the Cloud," and there is one huge, magnificent cloud in the sky. I'm assuming that the name comes from the main cloud. The cloud seems to be moving a lot and is a large part of the painting. Knowing that Doctor Atl used a lot of symbolism in his paintings, and that he was a very political person with strong opinions, I think that the cloud is supposed to represent or mean something, but I have no idea what.