“El Chelista (The Cellist)”
by Roberto Montenegro
1940
Oil on canvas, Private Collection.
Montenegro (1885 - 1968) was a Mexican artist who was involved in the Mexican muralism movement, but is today is best known for his illustrations of celebrated ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky of the Ballets Russe.
Born in Guadalajara, his father sent him to Mexico City to study architecture but he gravitated toward drawing & art history. Diego Rivera was a fellow art student, as were queer artists Ángel Zárraga & Saturnino Herrán. In 1906 he received a scholarship to study in Europe, which he won over Rivera via a coin toss (Rivera was able to go several months later).
He would return back to Mexico to live permanently in 1921. Along with his creative practice he held a number of government positions that oversaw art production. Though initially associated with Mexican muralism, his work never achieved the same prominence as other associated with the movement, & he is best remembered today for other work.
Joyce M. Youmans & Kieron Devlin describe how the Montenegro “felt constrained by his social milieu to refrain from painting overtly homosexual works,” but did manage to “make sly references to his sexuality”—though I’d say this one is a bit more on the overt side!
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