Antonio Ruiz

Antonio Ruiz, known as "El Corzo" or "El Corcito" because of his resemblance to a Spanish bullfighter with that same nickname, created this small gouache in 1923, three years before he left Mexico to pursue a career in set design in Hollywood. The enigmatic image, an early example of his designs for the stage, foreshadows Ruiz's later work in film and theater. In Theatrical Allegory, Ruiz assembles images that allude to classical Greek theater, reflecting the revival of interest in classical philosophy among Mexican intellectuals (particularly Secretary of Education José Vasconcelos) during the 1910s and 1920s. If this is a design for a particular play, the immediate reference is now lost. A nude male actor, wearing a white mask and a wavy, blonde wig, leaps forward in space with his arms outspread. Oddly emasculated, he may wear a tight costume that covers his body. His physique, modeled with simple dark lines, recalls the stylized forms of early Greek kouroi sculptures. Ruiz emphasizes the geometric form of the actor's shadow against the wooden floor, suggesting a brightly lit stage. The figure stands before a painted stage set that includes a Greek temple and four classical buildings, which recede into the distance. A white ship floats on a backdrop; lighting streaks across a stormy sky. In the foreground, Ruiz paints a snake, a wheel, a box (perhaps a speaker's podium), and a cone (possibly a megaphone although it has a sharply pointed end). These somewhat incongruous objects may function as stage props, but they also indicate Ruiz was aware of the work of Italian metaphysical painters like Giorgio de Chirico, who often juxtaposed architectural forms, human figures, and still life objects. Like Ruiz, the metaphysical painters often emphasized classical sculptural and architectural elements as well.