(b. Colima, Mexico, 1898; d. Mexico City, Mexico, 1957).
A painter, Alfonso Michel lived extensively abroad in San Francisco, Florence, and Paris, where he was in contact with the European avant-garde. When he returned to Mexico in 1930, Michel became associated with the Contemporáneos (Contemporaries), a community of libertarian writers and artists unwilling to dedicate their work to promoting nationalism. He was also involved in the Ruptura (Rupture) movement, a group of artists who wished to assert their individuality separate from Muralism and the thematic of social freedom. He was influenced by the Synthetic Cubism of Braque and Picasso in his rendering of figures, and incorporated a rich palette of color, evident in works such as The Letter (1936). Sources:
Edward J.Sullivan, ed. Latin American Art in the Twentieth Century. London: Phaidon Press, 1996. pgs. 27, 40.
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