Estrada, José María (c. 1810–c. 1862)

José María Estrada (b. ca. 1810; d. ca. 1862), Mexican painter. Born in Guadalajara, Estrada signed his paintings sometimes as José María Estrada and sometimes as José María Zepeda de Estrada, which has caused some confusion about his work. He studied under José María Uriarte, director of painting at the Academy of Guadalajara, who had received his education at the Academy of Mexico City. Estrada did not, however, follow the path of academic painters. Specializing in portraits, he painted in a style typical of his native state of Jalisco. His portraits are enchanting and are characterized by meticulous detail, with subjects in sober dress, their faces in three-quarter position, and their hands always holding a fruit, a kerchief, or a fan. Estrada used unadorned backgrounds to emphasize his subjects, and his colors tended toward the cool end of the spectrum. Unlike his adult subjects, he portrayed children full-bodied.

Estrada's compositional style was typical of popular painters who paint what they know, as opposed to painting what "should be seen" according to the rules of illusionist perspective imposed in the academies. He also painted dead children, a custom common in traditional painting. Estrada died in Guadalajara.

See alsoArt: The Nineteenth Century .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Burke, Marcus. Mexican Art Masterpieces. New York: Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 1998.

Montenegro, Roberto. Mexican Painting 1800–1860. New York: Appleton-Century Co., 1933.

                                      Esther Acevedo