After the Mexican Revolution, Mexico City became a vibrant cultural center that attracted international artists, intellectuals, political activists, and patrons of the arts. Among the foreigners flocking to Mexico were the film producer Jacques Gelman (1909–1986) and his future wife, Natasha Zahalkaha (1912–1998). They met in Mexico City after leaving Eastern Europe before World War II. They married in 1941 and soon became important in Mexico’s social and cultural circles. With the success of Jacques Gelman’s film production company, the couple was able to commission and collect works by the foremost modern artists in Mexico. Most of the artworks in this exhibition are from their extensive holdings.
Emilio Baz Viaud
Mexican, 1918–1991
Portrait of Margot Mac Inteyre, 1950
Watercolor and dry brush on cardboard
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
[Artwork Description: A photo-realistic watercolor painting of a woman from the waist up as she stands with her left shoulder in front of three wooden shelves while looking into the distance. She is thin and wears orangish-brown pants cinched at the waist with a belt. She wears a loose-fitting turtleneck that is pleated at the neck and sleeves that is tucked into her pants. The sleeves have cuffs that come to a point hanging below her writs, secured with square silver cuff links. She is also wearing a loose silver chain necklace over her shirt that lays near her right shoulder. Her left arm is crossed across her body, holding onto her right bicep with her pale yellow fingers. The right arm is at a 90-degree angle, and that hand is vertical, lightly grasping on a light-colored wood shelf in front of her. On the top shelf is a fist-sized ball of green yarn with two long golden knitting needles poked into it and the tail of the yarn is coming unraveled onto the shelf and drops to the shelf beneath. To the left is a white flower with many petals and a green stem and underside, and an unframed square photo of a black and brown dog in profile leans against the wall. There are some other unrecognizable items on the second shelf and a folded paper with cursive writing standing on the bottom shelf. She has short, wispy, light-brown hair, angular brown eyebrows, and smooth cream-colored skin. She has a thick silver hoop earring in her right ear, slightly larger than her gray eyes. She has a small rounded-tip nose, pale pink lips, and a furrowed brow.]
Emilio Baz Viaud
Mexican, 1918–1991
Portrait of Nazario Chimez Barket, 1952
Watercolor and dry brush on cardboard
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
Emilio Baz Viaud’s meticulous portraits strongly evoke the psychological and physical presence of his subjects. Although he studied architecture, he became a celebrated painter, acclaimed for his ability to capture vivid expressions and to carefully render textures.
[Artwork Description: A photo-realistic watercolor portrait of a man. He has short, dark, wavy hair, dark, bushy eyebrows and a thin dark moustache split in the middle. He has large brown eyes, gazing up at the viewer, a thin nose and a small mouth. His skin is a very light tan color. He is wearing a light blue button down shirt with two front pockets. The collar is down on his right side, and up on his left. The top few buttons are open exposing his chest that is adorned with a necklace. The shirt sleeves are rolled up to the elbows and he has his arms crossed across his body. His wrists are bent at sharp, unnatural looking angles with his fingers lightly grasping his forearms. He is wearing a ring on his right pinkie finger. The wall behind him is a light tan, the same color has his skin. On the right side of him are a collection of papers pinned to the wall, one of which is a picture of a statue of Jesus. On the left of him is a pale pink rose, a gold rounded ornament and an unfolded blank piece of white paper.]
Ángel Zárraga
Mexican, 1886–1946
Portrait of Jacques Gelman, 1945
Oil on canvas
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
Zárraga’s portrait captures Gelman on a film set, signified by the spotlight, cables, and camera around him, several of which are operated by disembodied arms that reach into view. Gelman himself is the picture of a confident producer, dressed in a suit and smoking a cigar as he leans back in a director’s chair.
[Artwork Description: A portrait of a light skinned male sitting in a director’s chair with film equipment in the background. Gelman is posed with legs crossed at the knee, right hand resting on his lap, his left hand holding a lit cigarette. He wears a brown double-breasted suit with a white shirt and a blue-green printed ascot and white pocket square. He faces the viewer, has dark, slicked back hair, dark brows, a long nose and a neutral expression. He sits in a brown foldable wooden director’s chair with arms and hinges visible on the seat’s side. Behind him to the far left, a light skinned arm is seen from bicep to hand which appears to grasp a cord extending down from the top of the painting. At top right, a large klieg spotlight stands next to an old-fashioned film camera that looks like a white, a gray and a black boxes stacked on top of each other. A gray corrugated roll down door composes the background at right and doorway with light streaming in is suggested at background left.]
David Alfaro Siqueiros
Mexican, 1896–1974
Portrait of Natasha Gelman, 1950
Oil on canvas
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
Siqueiros, the most politically radical of the Mexican muralists, fought in the revolution and became a member of the Syndicate of Revolutionary Mexican Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers. He was a frequent guest at the Gelman home. As Mrs. Gelman recalled, “He came one afternoon for tea. Here he met Diego, and the discussions began. At two in the morning, they were still having tea.”
[Artwork Description: A painted portrait of a white woman with light blonde, chin length hair, wearing a mauve dress against a red background. The subject is seated with her elbows resting on chair arms. She wears a mauve colored short sleeve dress with a wide shawl collar that partially exposes her shoulders and upper chest. She wears a thick gold choker stye necklace and a bejeweled belt at her waist. The full skirt of her dress spreads out over her lap. Mrs. Gelman has large, almond shaped eyes and deep red lips in the same shade as her manicured nails. Large gold earrings and a single gold ring on her right pinkie finger complete her look. The background behind her is a mixture of deep red and mauve tones that both swirl around and outline the figure lending a sense of movement.]
Diego Rivera
Mexican, 1886–1957
Portrait of Natasha Gelman, 1943
Oil on canvas
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
Kahlo and Rivera were among the prominent artists in the Gelman’s social circle. In 1943 Jacques commissioned Rivera to paint a portrait of his wife, Natasha. Rivera depicted her with the poise and glamour of a movie star. The bouquets of calla lilies recall the flower vendors who appear in other works by Rivera. Natasha’s elegant and revealing white gown forms a silhouette that mimics the blooming flower.
[Artwork Description: Natasha Gelman, a tall, thin, white woman with wavy reddish blonde hair lays across a gray sofa, her long legs cascading off the couch and onto the floor. She wears a white tightly fitting cocktail dress with thin shoulder straps and a low neckline. Gold embellishments cover the fabric over her left breast. She leans on her left arm and wears a large silver watch. She has large silver rings on both of her fourth fingers and has red nail polish. The dress has a slit in the front that goes up to just below her knees. She wears open-toed silver high heels with two thin silver straps crossed on the top of her feet that reach behind the heels. Her toenails are painted red. She tucks her left foot behind her right one on top of her dress. Ten large white calla lilies with yellow centers lie on the couch behind her, steps near her thighs and blossoms hanging off the end of the couch. A bouquet of about twenty white calla lilies with yellow centers rise up behind her shoulders and torso, blossoms facing upward. There are black walls in the background and the floor is a golden color. A small piece of paper with handwriting lays on the floor in front of the couch.]
Frida Kahlo
Mexican, 1907–1954
Portrait of Natasha Gelman, 1943
Oil on Masonite
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
Jacques and Natasha Gelman became friends with Rivera and Kahlo and commissioned each of them to paint Mrs. Gelman’s portrait. Kahlo’s painting, like Rivera’s, celebrates Natasha’s glamour and poise but focuses on her facial expression instead of her body or her surroundings.
[Artwork Description: The face and upper body of a woman wearing a fur coat fills the frame. Her face is a rounded oval shape, and her skin is cream colored with reddish/brown highlights. Her almond shaped, light brown eyes are staring straight ahead. Thin black eyebrows follow the shape of her eyes. Her nose is straight and narrow. Her reddish-brown hair is pulled back and up at the sides and front to show a heart-shaped hairline. This hair is styled into eight large, rolled curls that sit on the top of her head. The hair in the back hangs down behind her ears and shoulders in looser curls. Her full red lips have a neutral expression with the heart-shaped upper lip echoing the shape of the hairline. Her head is turned slightly to her right to show an earring shaped like a flower on her left ear. She is wearing a plain black, round necked shirt that comes to a slight point at the level of her collarbone. A soft, brown fur coat is around her shoulders and chest.]