Linares, Pedro (1906–1992)

Pedro Linares (b. 29 June 1906; d. 26 January 1992), a Mexican papier-mâché artist (cartonero) who developed an expressive, one-of-a-kind style from folk art forms and traditional, ephemeral fiesta accoutrements. He is best known for two genres—the alebrije (fantastic animal) and the calavera (animated skeleton)—based on Holy Week Judas and Day of the Dead calavera miniatures.

Trained as a child by his father, Linares passed the family métier on to his three sons—Enrique, Felipe, and Miguel—who extended the imaginative possibilities of the medium. Grandsons Leonardo, Ricardo, and David have also taken up the work.

Alebrijes, a term coined by Linares, combine the body parts of serpents, scorpions, lions, reptiles, and butterflies and accentuate a playful outlook on reality. Intricate surface patterning in an array of bright colors and detailed tactile textures (spikes, bumps, curves) add dimension. Linares's calaveras touch on a pre-Hispanic rooted belief that death is an extension of life. Thus, calaveras engage in a wide variety of activities, such as guitar-playing, picture-taking, and skateboarding. Many of Linares's calavera scenes are inspired by the prints of José Guadalupe Posada, most notably La Catrina, El Panteón, Don Quixote, and revolutionary figures.

See alsoDia de muertos, Calaveras .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rodolfo Becerril Straffon and Adalberto Ríos Szalay, Los artesanos nos dijeron … (1981).

Carlos Espejel, Las artesanías tradicionalis en México (1972); Judith Bronowsky, Artesanos Mexicanos (1978).

Victor Inzúa Canalis, Artesanía en papel y cartón (1982) and El imaginativo mundo de los Linares (1987).

Susan N. Masuoka, En Calavera: The Papier-Mâché Art of the Linares Family (1994).

                                  Susan N. Masuoka