Mardonio Magaña

Mardonio Magaña-Camacho (c.1865–1947) also known as Magañita, stone direct carvings, he was also known to work with wood and mud. He was a self-taught artist inspired by nature, who was "discovered" by artist Diego Rivera. It's said that Diego Rivera was quoted as saying Magaña was, "the greatest contemporary Mexican sculptor".

Biography

Born between 1865 and 1866 in La Estancia Nueva, Guanajuato, Mexico to a peasant family, the son of Dolores Camacho and Jacinto Magaña. He spend most of his life working as a foreman at the property of Don Vincente Silva in his hometown. At age 52, after the devastation left by the Mexican Revolution he moved to the capital, Mexico City, to find work. Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), National Museum of Mexican Art, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection, and Frida Kahlo Museum.

Magaña's portrait was painted by Diego Rivera in his large mural Pan American Unity (1940) and can be seen at the City College of San Francisco, where the mural is now located.