Francisco Díaz de León, 1897-1975

He was born in the city of Aguascalientes, Mexico, in 1897 and studied in the National School of Fine Arts under Leandro Izaguirre and Germán Gedovius. His first work shows a marked influence from Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, but like many of his companions he associated himself with the Open Air Schools, assimilating aesthetic innovations based on free expression. As a teacher, he directed the Tlalpan school, where he emphasized graphics. In 1929, he founded an engraving workshop in what was then the Central School of Plastic Arts, directed by Diego Rivera, for which he then became director in 1933. In 1938, he created the School of Book Arts, and his career as a painter became secondary, since he focused his attention on graphics and book design and production. He was the art director of the magazine Mexican Art and Life from 1938 to 1939. He was a member of the Seminar of Mexican Culture and of The Academy of Arts. He died on December 29, 1975 in Mexico City.