(b. Mexico City, Mexico, 1918).
Educated abroad, Ricardo Martínez returned to Mexico to study law. He is virtually self-taught as a painter, though he learned some techniques at the Galería de Arte Mexicano. His early works were still lifes, and later he depicted monumental non-narrative figures reminiscent of Pre-Columbian sculpture. In the late '60's he achieved unreal atmospheres in his works by using plays of light and condensations of paint. In addition to easel paintings, he created stage designs for the ballet Xochipili by Carlos Chávez. The first exhibition of his work was held in Mexico City in 1942. His Repose was exhibited at the Venice Biennial of 1950, part of a group of Mexican works that ignored European debates regarding form and presented "proud, silent, fetish-like images." Martínez was honored in 1994 with a show at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Sources:
Marta Traba, Art of Latin America: 1900
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