Emilio Amero (Mexican 1901-1976)

Working alongside such modernist luminaries as Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco in 1920s Mexico, Emilio Amero became steeped in the aesthetics and ideals of the muralists. Years later, after he had settled in the United States, the artist continued to depict traditional Mexican subjects in a monumentalizing style that demonstrates the enduring influence of Los Tres Grandes. Abluciones, with its two volumetric women who evoke the image of pre-Columbian goddesses rendered in radiant red, is a testament to Amero’s ability to transform the lessons of the muralists into his own distinct artistic vision. For Amero, this vision included not only painting, but printmaking as well. Indeed, Amero dedicated much of his life to both creating prints and establishing schools in New York, Oklahoma and Seattle to further the development of the medium. Printmaking was in fact such an essential part of Amero’s practice that lithographs often formed the basis for his future paintings as is the case with the present work.