Dr. Atl (Gerardo Murillo): Biography

Dr. Atl is the pseudonym of Gerardo Murillo Cornado, Mexican painter and writer, who also stood out for his work as a geologist, explorer, philosopher, historian, art critic, politician, stylist, doctor, professor, caricaturist, essayist and journalist. He was also passionate about volcanology.

He was born in 1875 in Guadalajara, Jalisco. The pseudonym Atl comes from the word"water"in Nahuatl . The preposition"Dr."refers to his doctorate in philosophy ; Dr. Atl called himself because of his interest in obtaining an identification more in line with his personality . Murillo lived both the rise of the Revolution and the rebirth of the country.

Landscape with Iztaccihuatl, work of Dr. Atl

Through his multifaceted production, he sought his identification through a great multitude of expressive works of art and through crafts. He became interested in the world of science and made literary and plastic arts works on Mexican volcanoes.

He also frequently climbed the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes, and witnessed the formation of Paricutín volcano in the plain of Quitzoco, in 1943. In addition, he actively participated in the Mexican Revolution and left a lot of works in multiple artistic expressions. He died in 1964 at the age of 88.

Biography

First years

José Gerardo Francisco Murillo Cornado was the eldest son of Eutiquio Murillo and Rosa Cornado. He was born on October 3, 1875 in the San Juan de Dios neighborhood of Guadalajara, Jalisco. His father had the profession of pharmacist.

Approach to painting

At age 19, he took the first painting classes at Felipe Castro's workshop in Guadalajara. In 1895, Gerardo Murillo moved to Aguascalientes to complete high school at the State's Scientific and Literary Institute. He returned to Guadalajara, where he frequented the workshop of the painter Félix Bernardelli.

Then he studied at the Academia de San Carlos (National School of Fine Arts) in Mexico City. At age 22 he received a scholarship granted by the government of Porfirio Díaz, together with the financial assistance of the Jalisco government, to continue his training in Europe.

Studies in Europe

Dr. Atl studied Philosophy at the University of Rome and Criminal Law at the Sorbonne in Paris. He toured England, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, devoting himself to painting and journalism.

In Paris he was strongly influenced by the old pictorial art and Renaissance mural painting. In 1900 he received a silver medal for his pastel self-portrait at the annual exhibition of the Paris Salon.

He attended lectures of Émile Durkheim and Henri Bergson as part of his training in sociology, psychology and art theory.

I return to Mexico

On his return to Mexico he was hired by the San Carlos Academy to work as a classifier, evaluator and restorer of the academy's collections. He also made several studies there, attending drawing and painting workshops.

At the San Carlos Academy he was known as"the agitator"because of his struggle against traditional methods of teaching the arts. He struggled from the academy for education in popular arts.

In 1910, during the centenary of the Independence of Mexico, Dr. Atl led a protest in front of the Secretariat of Public Instruction and Fine Arts. He obtained an economic compensation that helped him to organize a successful collective exhibition.

Second trip to Europe

After the armed movements of 1910, Gerardo Murillo undertook his second trip to Europe without any definite plan.

Established in France, he made exhibitions there, in Germany and in Italy. He founded the Parisian newspaper Action d 'Art and the International League of Writers and Artists. It aimed to bring together artists and thinkers to fight for transformation and progress.

Second return to Mexico

During the coup d'état of Victoriano Huerta in 1913, Gerardo Murillo returns to Mexico. After a meeting with Venustiano Carranza, he met in 1914 with Emiliano Zapata. There he convinces Zapata to join Carranza's side to defeat Huerta.

During the same 1914 he was appointed auditor of the National School of Fine Arts. Some time later it would be in charge of the institution, implementing multiple educational reforms. He participated actively in politics until the death of Venustiano Carranza in 1920.

Publications

Since the death of Carranza he dedicated himself to the publication of his books with his own illustrations. The recurring themes of the illustrations in those books were portraits, female nudes, mountains, seas and volcanoes.

In 1927 he began publishing articles in The universal and in the Excelsior . From 1930 he devoted himself exclusively to the development of works based on portraits and landscapes.

He maintained a long relationship with Carmen Mondragón, painter, poet and Mexican model. Dr. Atl made multiple portraits of Mondragón and some of them stand out in his work.

Amputation

Dr. Atl had to undergo the amputation of his right leg, which prevented him from continuing to climb volcanoes and mountains. Therefore, he began to fly over the landscapes, which allowed him to create the"aero landscape"style.

He also developed the idea of ​​the"Atl-colors", a painting composed of wax, resin and oil to paint fabric, paper or rock.

Featured work

Painting

- Landscape with volcanoes

Novels

- The eternal father, satan and Juanito García . Mexico, Boots, 1938

- A man beyond the universe . Mexico, Culture, 2016

Stories

- Tales of all colors. Vol. I

- Tales of all colors. II. Mexico, Boots, 1936

- Tales of all colors . Vol III. Mexico, Boots, 1941

- Barbaric tales and all colors. Mexico, National Council for Culture and the Arts, 1990

Poetry

Catalogue

- Catalog of paintings and drawings of the Pani Collection. Mexico, National University, 1921.

Autobiography

- Profane people in the convent. Mexico, Boots, 1950.

essays

- The Jews on America. Mexico. Editions The Reaction. 1942

Recognition and death

He was decorated in 1956 with the Belisario Dominguez Medal by the Senate of the Republic. In 1958 he won the National Prize of Fine Arts for his performance in the Fine Arts.

On August 15, 1964, he died in full artistic activity in Mexico City. Its death is attributed to cardiorespiratory arrest and it is believed that it could have been caused by the constant breathing and absorption of the gaseous material in the Paricutín volcano.

His remains were deposited in the Rotunda of the Illustrious Persons of the Civil Pantheon in Dolores, in Mexico City.

Reference

1. Castellanos, A. (1985). Dr. Atl, conscience and landscape. UNAM-INBA.
2. Cumberland, C. (1957). Dr. Atl and Venustiano Carranza. The Americas.
3. Dominguez Michael, C. (1997). Shots at the concert: Mexican Literature of the 5th century Editions Era.
4. Mirror, B. (1994). Dr. Atl: Landscape as passion. Coyoacán, Mexico: Editorial Fund of the Plástica Mexica.
5. Vázquez Piñón, J. (2007). Accidentalness and mechanicity. Existential dynamics of Dr. Atl. Michoacán University of San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Faculty of History.