Figura prehispánica XII. Hombre con mascara de coyote, Veracruz
Figuras prehispánicas

Artist name

Rufino Tamayo

Artist year born

1899

Artist year deceased

1991

Artwork make date

1976

Artwork title translation

Prehispanic Figure XII. Man with a Coyote Mask, Veracruz
Prehispanic Figures

Artwork material

lithograph
paper

Artwork dimensions

height: 56cm
width: 45.5cm

Artwork type (categories)

Print

Accession method

Donated by the Fundación Olga y Rufino Tamayo 1997

Accession number

61:11-1997

Label text

In Hombre con máscara de coyote, Tamayo draws inspiration from a figurine from the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz. As the title of the lithograph indicates, the figure wears a dramatically detailed coyote mask with pointed, protruding ears, wide eyes and sharp teeth bared in a snarling mouth. The man is also adorned with a necklace attached to a rounded breastplate and stands with his masked face raised and his arm outstretched behind him as if in a ritualised motion. Many of the Mesoamerican pantheons of deities included a coyote god who was sometimes a god of music and often a trickster-style mischief-maker. This god was either represented as a coyote or a man with a coyote head, and the figure in Tamayo's lithograph may be a shaman incarnating the deity. Alternatively, the figure's fierce appearance may indicate that he is a warrior. As with the other lithographs of the Figuras Prehispánicas series, Tamayo covers the figure's body with a streak of paint, and loose patterns comprise the background.
Terri Geis

Last updated date

2008