"Portrait of Dolores Hoyos," Hermenegildo Bustos, 1884.
Mexican artist José Hermenegildo de la Luz Bustos Hernández (1832-1907) was known mostly for his portraits, but also did a number of religious paintings and still lifes.
He saw a lot of turbulence in his early life, including a cholera epidemic and the founding of the Mexican nation. At various times he worked as a tinsmith, tailor, carpenter, and mason, and kept an orchard. He had many interests in thing like history and astronomy, and art. He had a little formal art training but seems to have been largely self-educated, painting portraits of the members of prominent families in his area. He even did a portrait of Benito Juarez, now lost. (Check your attic!) And he always modestly indicated himself as "amateur painter" when signing his work.
After his death and the Mexican Revolution, his work was reassessed as a native son of Mexico, and received greater notice and acclaim. This portrait of a well-to-do young lady is probably his most popular work.
From the Museo Blaisten, Ciudad de Mexico.
#Art #MexicanArt #HermenegildoBustos #Realism #WomenInArt #PortraitMonday.
