After the Mexican revolution, artists searched and expressed for several years the ideals and aesthetics that they considered necessary for the country. From these ideas emerged movements such as muralism in which the great masters Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros expressed themselves from a nationalist, costumbrista and left-wing thought, which formed the bases of Mexican art that predominated until the mid-20th century.
In the 1950s, the artists who would later make up the La Ruptura group decided that the ideas of the old school were too worn out and obsolete, and were delaying the progress of art in Mexico. This is how both Mexicans and foreigners practicing in the country begin to focus on a different art, with a less nationalist discourse, and although muralism and painting continued to be important, sculpture and installation found their place in the most avant-garde artists of the rupture, who, as their name indicates, sought to break with the old idea of what art should be in Mexico, get rid of the boxes of a single aesthetic and experiment more freely with different currents and influences from Europe.
Although there are names that remain present during the records of the events of this movement, there is no definitive list of the “legitimate” members or founders of La Ruptura. However, there is a constant in the appearance and importance of Rufino Tamayo, being the one who practically carried the banner of the avant-garde at the forefront of this movement, becoming almost an example for the participants of this generation. Among other names that resonate within the group's history are Manuel Felguérez, José Luis Cuevas, Pedro Coronel, Lilia Carrillo, Beatriz Zamora and Fernando García Ponce.
The artists of this movement did not identify themselves as a formal group, but they frequented each other, they met to discuss ideas and play sports, each one sought their own order and they did not have a manifesto in which La Ruptura defined their art. The main characteristic that united them was the search for their own art, and that is why the works of these artists are incredibly varied in style and themes, ranging from the social to the psychological, creating a discourse in the work through various resources, the variety of materials being a notable characteristic among them.
In short, La Ruptura was characterized as the historical moment in Mexican art in which various artists decided to seek freedom in their art, each with their own proposal, but accompanying the rest on the path to progress. diversity and experimentation in the discourse, putting aside the aesthetics of the school already established and accepted before them, where the art of Mexico moved in a single direction, limiting the true work and creative creation of future artists.
Sources: laalgarabia.com, laruptura.org, magazineimagenes.esteticas.unam.mx and magazineindustria.com.mx
Images: works by Beatriz Zamora, José Luis Cuevas, Kazuya Sakai, Lilia Carrillo and Rufino Tamayo.