GERMÁN CUETO t hanks to funds generously provided by Martha Randolph Daura, the museum ac- quired two works by Germán Cueto from the collection of the artist’s son, Javier F. Cueto Galán. Often considered the first Mexican abstract artist, Cueto experimented with a wide range of mediums and materials during his career. He began studying sculpture in the San Carlos Academy in 1918 but dropped out because he was dissatisfied with the school’s strict adherence to dated artistic tradi- tions. At this time, directly following the Mexican Revolution, many Mexican artists were looking to both their pre-Columbian history and the European avant-garde for inspiration to establish a new cul- tural and artistic identity. Cueto was an early member of several highly influ - ential groups, including Cercle et Carré (Circle and Square), which comprised well-known artists of the early-20th-century avant-garde, such as Hans Arp, Piet Mondrian, Vassily Kandinsky and Pierre Daura. Cueto’s first solo exhibition took place in Mexico City in 1944, but he did not achieve the notoriety of many of his peers until later in his life, when the next generation of Mexican artists began to ac- knowledge his innovations and their impact on their own work. “El Orador” features a speaking figure with one arm raised, molded in a mixture of curved and jagged segments of scrap metal. “Proyecto para mural in distintos metales” is a preparatory study made from two distinct layers of cut paper. The study is not related to any known mural produced by Cueto.
Germán Cueto (Mexican, 1893 – 1975) “El Orador,” 1948 Iron, 17 3/4 × 7 7/8 × 5 1/2 inches
Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Museum purchase with funds provided by Martha
Randolph Daura GMOA 2021.104
Nelda Damiano Pierre Daura Curator of European Art
Germán Cueto (Mexican, 1893 – 1975) “Proyecto para mural in distintos metales,” 1946 Gouache on cut paper, 19 7/8 × 24 inches Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Museum purchase with funds provided by Martha Randolph Daura GMOA 2021.105
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