Loading

Pranks of Love

Manuel Ocaranza1877

Museo Nacional de Arte

Museo Nacional de Arte
Mexico City, Mexico

Manuel Ocaranza is one of the most interesting painters pertaining to the second half of the XIXth century. A famous draftsman and colorist, he entered the San Carlos Academy in 1861 and, by the end of that decade, had impressed everyone with the originality of his subjects, which broke with all the conventions regarding epic-historic topics. In this vein, he executed Costumbrista scenes charged with moral significance and sentiment in line with the tenets of Romanticism, as well as works on allegorical-mythical topics. Pranks of Love is a work conceived as a light divertissement, far removed from the precepts of academic art. The delicate, graceful figure of the naked little boy, his body barely enveloped in a winding piece of sheer cloth, is that of the mythical Eros-Cupid, who, mischievously and with a malicious look in his eyes -belying his innocent appearance- is symbolically corrupting the purity of the passions by poisoning a white rose, thus exemplifying the dire stratagems employed by love in pursuit of its ends. A bow and arrow lie at the child´s feet, and he is surrounded by a delicately drawn, multicolored compendium of malignant symbols –consisting of a snake, an owl, a skull and flasks full of potions- befitting a sorcerer. This work was shown at the XVth Exhibition of the National Fine Arts School in 1871, along with other paintings by the Michoacán-born artist, such as The Concordia Café and Lake Flower. These are genre pieces aimed at the critics of the day, who were setting more and more exacting standards for Costumbrista works. It passed from the Morelia Regional Museum to the MUNAL in April of 1992.

Show lessRead more
  • Title: Pranks of Love
  • Creator Lifespan: 1841 - 1882
  • Creator Nationality: Mexican
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: Mexico City
  • Creator Birth Place: Michoacán
  • Date Created: 1877
  • painter: Manuel Ocaranza
  • Provenance: Morelia Regional Museum, 1992
  • Physical Dimensions: w1000 x h1420 mm (complete)
  • Original Spanish object note: Manuel Ocaranza es uno de los pintores más interesantes de la segunda mitad del siglo XIX. Dibujante y colorista afamado, ingresó a la Academia de San Carlos en 1861 y, al finalizar la década, impresionó a todos por la novedad de sus temas que rompieron con los convencionalismos de los asuntos épico-históricos. De tal forma, ejecutó episodios costumbristas con fuertes cargas morales y sentimentales –propios de los preceptos del romanticismo como vertiente ideológica- y temas alegórico-mitológicos. Travesuras del amor es una obra resuelta a manera de un divertimento relajado, distante de la tradición académica iconográfica. La figura delicada y graciosa del niño desnudo es apenas cubierta por una gasa que serpentea su cuerpo; representa al mitológico Eros-Cupido, quien de manera traviesa y con ojos de malicia -que no corresponden a su inocente imagen- envenena una rosa blanca corrompiendo con ello la pureza de las pasiones, como parte de los funestos procedimientos del amor para alcanzar su cometido. Al pie del infante descansan un arco y una flecha, y lo envuelve un compendio de signos maléficos finamente trazados y policromados, propios de un hechicero: serpiente, lechuza, calavera y frascos de pócimas. La obra figuró en la XV Exposición de la Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes de 1871, junto con otras pinturas del artista michoacano, como Café de la Concordia y La flor del lago. Son temas de género dirigidos a la crítica del momento, que cada vez era más exigente en las representaciones costumbristas. Procedente del Museo Regional de Morelia, se adjudicó al MUNAL en abril de 1992.
  • Original title: Travesuras del amor
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: Museo Nacional de Arte, INBA, http://www.munal.com.mx/rights.html
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
Museo Nacional de Arte

Get the app

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Interested in Visual arts?

Get updates with your personalized Culture Weekly

You are all set!

Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.

Home
Discover
Play
Nearby
Favorites