Xavier Martínez
Xavier Martinez | |
---|---|
Micaela Martinez DuCasse | |
Patron(s) | Rosalia LaBastida de Coney, Alexander K. Coney |
Xavier Timoteo Martínez (February 7, 1869 – January 13, 1943) was a Mexican-born
Childhood in Guadalajara
He was originally christened Javier Timoteo Martínez y Orozco, but later called himself Xavier Tizoc Martinez, the middle name acknowledging his
Early life
When his biological mother died at age 17, he was fostered and taken in by an aristocratic woman named Rosalia LaBastida de Coney (1844–1897), she was married to an American, Alexander K. Coney (1847–1930) who worked for Mexico's foreign office.[3] When Alexander Coney was appointed Consul-General of Mexico and posted to in San Francisco in 1886, Martinez followed them, sailing through the Golden Gate in 1893.[3]
Upon arrival in San Francisco, in 1893 Martinez enrolled in the
Martinez entered the Paris
Return to San Francisco, Mexico trips
In 1901 he moved back to San Francisco, he shared an art studio with Gottardo Piazzoni and that year became a naturalized citizen of the United States.[1] He advertised as a portrait painter, but also continued to paint tonalist landscapes. In the subsequent year he helped found the California Society of Artists with Piazzoni, Maynard Dixon, Charles Peter Neilson and other artists who were disaffected with the San Francisco Art Association.[4] Their first and only exhibition included seventeen works by Martinez, mostly French scenes.[2] In 1904 he began sharing his Montgomery Street atelier with Maynard Dixon; they held joint studio shows on Saturdays. The two travelled to Arizona and Tepic, Mexico, in April 1905; upon their return Martinez held several exhibitions.[1]
In 1905 he spent two months in Guadalajara with Maynard Dixon. Upon his return to San Francisco he held a number of exhibitions, and also gave one show in New York, emphasizing the recent Mexican genre paintings.[citation needed] That year he produced a painting a critic called a "masterpiece," given the title The Prayer of the Earth by his poet friend George Sterling.[5]
Personal life
After the
The Martínezes had a daughter on August 13, 1913: Micaela Martinez. She became a fine artist, studying painting with
Art and teaching career
Martinez was one of a group of artists invited to create an art gallery at Monterey's
In 1914,
In 1939 he exhibited Portrait of Elsie at the 1939–1940
Writings
Under the influence of his friend the poet George Sterling, Martinez wrote poetry. His poem "Mictlan" was selected for publication in the Book Club of California's prestigious 1925 anthology Continent's End: An Anthology of Contemporary California Poets.[16]
During the last two decades of his life, Martinez became increasingly interested in his indigenous Mexican heritage. He published poetry and philosophic writings in a column entitled "Notas de un Chichimeca" in the Hispano-Americano, San Francisco's Spanish-language newspaper.[17]
Death
In 1941, Martinez became ill. Elsie brought him to Carmel to be with her, their daughter, and Harriet Dean. He was with Elsie for seven months before he died on January 13, 1943.[18]
Permanent collections
Xavier Martinez' paintings are held in the following museums:
- Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California
- Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
- Guadalajara Art Museum
- Mills CollegeArt Museum
- Oakland Museum of California
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 9781467545679. An online facsimile of the entire text of Vol. 1 is posted on the Traditional Fine Arts Organization website (http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/10aa/10aa557.htm)
- ^ ISBN 9780520247390.
- ^ a b c d e Morseburg, Jeffrey (August 6, 2011). "The Dark Beauty of Xavier Martinez". Xavier Martinez. Wordpress. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ISBN 9781423603795.
- ^ San Francisco Call, 30 July 1905, p. 19
- ISBN 9781491824139.
- ^ "Micaela Martinez DuCasse (1913 – 1989)". AskART. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ^ "Martinez House". ParkNet, National Park Service. US National Park Service. November 17, 2004. Archived from the original on October 30, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
- ^ The Argonaut (San Francisco, CA): 16 February 1907, p. 463; 27 April 1907, p. 633.
- ^ The Courier (Berkeley, CA): 24 April 1909, p. 9; 26 June 1909, p. 14.
- ISBN 9781615284054.
- ^ American Art Annual, 18, 1921, p. 189.
- ^ The Oakland Tribune, 30 March 1913, p. 25.
- ^ San Francisco Examiner, 21 December 1913, p. 37.
- ^ Neubert, George W. (1957). Xavier Martinez (1869–1943). Oakland, Calif.: Oakland Museum. pp. 2–69.
- ^ Continent's End: An Anthology of Contemporary California Poets, George Sterling, Genevieve Taggard, and James Rorty, eds. (San Francisco: Book Club of California, 1925), p. 167.
- ^ A History of Mexican Americans in California: Historic Sites/Martinez House, Oakland Archived October 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine In 1935 his article Aztecas—Naluatlecas or Mexicas appeared in California Arts and Architecture.
- ^ "Elise Whitaker Martinez, San Francisco Bay Area Writers and Artists" (PDF). Bancroft Library. Berkeley, California. 1969. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
External links
- Online Archive of California: "Self-portrait of Xavier Martinez"; oil sketch on academy board, presented to Haig Patigian in 1912.
- Xavier Martinez and Benjamin Bufano, 1922
- Elsie Martinez oral history