 | Carlos Merida (Guatemala, 1881 - México, D F., 1984)
Born in Guatemala he left most of his artistic legacy to Mexico. He went to Paris before turning 20 in the times of the fauves painting that was to end up in cubism. When he returned to Guatemala he started his work in American painting with folk themes. His goal was to achieve a national art style by expressing the customs and life he knew as a child.
When Carlos Merida moves to Mexico in 1919, he finds a sea of potential but very little unity. He participates intensely during a process of cultural redefinition, in a process of experimentation with alternatives to visualize what is "Mexican" and what is "American" in a language that accentuates Latin-America's own social and cultural particular conditions.
As with many other so called "Mexican Renaissance" artists, Merida becomes a real renaissance man by immersing himself in Mexico's cultural scene. Driven by his artistic, creative and economic needs he writes as an art critic, directs the National School of Dance, collaborates as an illustrator and author for various periodical publications and ultimately achieves to promote national folklore and post-revolutionary cultural movements internationally.
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