DR. ATL (GERARDO MURILLO): BIOGRAPHY - ART - 2024

Dr. Atl is the pseudonym of Gerardo Murillo Cornado, a Mexican painter and writer, who also stood out for his work as a geologist, explorer, philosopher, historian, art critic, politician, stylist, doctor, teacher, cartoonist, 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 prefix "Dr." he refers to his doctorate in philosophy; He called himself Dr. Atl because of his interest in obtaining an identification more in line with his personality. Murillo lived both the height of the Revolution and the rebirth of the country.

Landscape with the Iztaccíhuatl, by Dr. Atl

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

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

Biography

Early 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 was a pharmacist.

Approach to painting

At the age of 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 Scientific and Literary Institute. He returned to Guadalajara, where he frequented the studio of the painter Félix Bernardelli.

He then studied at the Academia de San Carlos (National School of Fine Arts) in Mexico City. At the age of 22, he received a scholarship granted by the government of Porfirio Díaz, together with financial assistance from the government of Jalisco, 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 dedicating himself to painting and journalism.

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

He attended the Émile Durkheim and Henri Bergson professorships 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 Academia de San Carlos to work as a classifier, evaluator, and restorer of the academy's collections. He also carried out various studies there, attending drawing and painting workshops.

At the San Carlos Academy he was known as "the agitator" due to his fight against traditional methods of teaching the arts. He fought from the academy for education in the popular arts.

In 1910, during the centenary of Mexico's Independence, Dr. Atl led a protest in front of the Secretariat of Public Instructions and Fine Arts. He obtained financial compensation that helped him organize a successful group 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 held 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 Victoriano Huerta's coup in 1913, Gerardo Murillo returned to Mexico. After a meeting with Venustiano Carranza, in 1914 he met with Emiliano Zapata. There he convinces Zapata to join Carranza's side to defeat Huerta.

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

Publications

Since the death of Carranza he devoted 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 to publish articles in El Universal and El Excélsior. From 1930 he devoted himself exclusively to the development of works based on portraits and landscapes.

He had a long relationship with Carmen Mondragón, a Mexican painter, poet and 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 style of “aero landscape”.

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

Outstanding work

Painting

Novels

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

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

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

Poetry

- The Symphonies of Popocatépetl. Mexico, Modern Mexico, 1921

Catalogue

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

Autobiography

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

essays

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

Recognition and death

In 1956 he was awarded the Belisario Dominguez Medal by the Senate of the Republic. In 1958 he won the National Fine Arts Award for his performance in Fine Arts.

On August 15, 1964, he died in full artistic activity in Mexico City. Her death is attributed to a cardioformanceiratory arrest and is believed to 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 Illustrious Persons of the Dolores Civil Pantheon, 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. Domínguez Michael, C. (1997). Shots in the concert: 5th century Mexican literature Ediciones Era.
4. Mirror, B. (1994). Dr. Atl: Landscape as a passion. Coyoacán, Mexico: Editorial Fund of the Plastic Mexica.
5. Vázquez Piñón, J. (2007). Accidentality and mechanicality. Existential dynamics of Dr. Atl. Michoacan University of San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Faculty of History.