Ángel Bracho

Ángel Bracho (February 14, 1911 – February 1, 2005) was a Mexican engraver and painter who is best known for his politically themed work associated with the Taller de Gráfica Popular; however he painted a number of notable murals as well. Bracho was from a lower-class family and worked a number of menial jobs before taking night classes for workers at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. Even though he had only four years of primary school, he then studied as a full-time student at the university. His art career began working with Diego Rivera on the painting of the Abelardo L. Rodríguez market in Mexico City. He was a founding member of the Taller de Gráfica Popular, making posters that would become characteristic of the group. His graphic design work is simple, clean and fine dealing with themes related to social struggles with farm workers, laborers and Mexican landscapes.

Life Bracho was born in Mexico City. His biographies contain discrepancies about is date of birth but most state that it was February 14, 1911. Bracho's father was a captain in the Mexican army, and his mother was a farm worker. His poor upbringing would later move him towards various social causes.

Angel Bracho married and had three children. In 1954, Bracho wrote a letter on behalf of the Taller to Guatemalan president Arbenz, expressing solidarity against a US-backed coup. However, the coup was successful with many of Arbenz's followers finding refuge in Mexico. He also wrote publications such as Cuauhtemoc, the Fall of Tenochititlán, the Peasant's Situation for The Massachusetts Review in 1974. His work with this and other groups would make him one of Mexico's most outstanding engraving artists, with work exhibited in Russia, France, Italy, the United States and parts of South America.

In addition to politically themed work, he did portraits and landscape works including "El Puente" (The Bridge) in 1955 and a portrait of Heriberto Jara Corona in 1952, both considered to be prime examples of linoleum engraving work. He created an album about the economic importance of agriculture and petroleum to Mexico in the 1930s. He contributes engravings to the magazine Futuro of the Confederación de Trabajadores de México. For a time, Bracho livesd with the Huichols, which led to the production of a four-lithograph album called ritual de la tribu India Huichol (Ritual of the Huichol Indian Tribe) was published in 1945. These prints are noted for their extreme attention to background detail.

His first recognition was as a lithographer, with his work included in a catalog called Estampas de la Revolución Mexicana published in 1947. In 1960, he received a gold medal from the Visión magazine in Buenos Aires. In 1966, he was named an honorary professor at the Academy of Design and Engraving in Florence, Italy, with an engraving called El Chiclero winning a prize from the same institution. He won first place at an engraving contest organized by the then Secretaría de Recursos Hidráulicos. The Casa de la Cultura of Michoacán hosted a large exhibition and homage to him in 1970 and in 1992, the Asamblea Legislative del Distrito Federal of Mexico City also honored him with a retrospective of his art and teaching work. Shortly after his death in 2005, the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes and the Talleres de Gráficas Populares paid homage to his work with an exhibition and round table discussions. In 2009, the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana honored him along with contemporary Francisco Dosamantes for their lives' work.

Artistry Bracho is considered to be part of the Escuela Mexicana de Pintura not because of his subject matter but rather for his expressive style. He was part of a generation what worked to show that the main impulse of Mexico was cultural rather than political, as artists who worked to improve society.

He was called "the artist of the people" because of his relationship with popular art. His work reflects his interest in the problems and struggles of man as well as social criticism. His travels as a teacher influenced his work, which features farm workers, laborers and Mexican landscapes.

All of his graphic work was engravings on linoleum. His engraving work has been described as simple, precise, fine and compared to French engraver Gustave Doré. His paintings, however, show a love for bright and rich colors.