Untitled (Tehuanas in Huipil Grande Headdresses)

ca. 1940

Roberto Montenegro Mexican, 1885 - 1968

On View

Modern, Level 2, North Wing

Untitled (Tehuanas in Huipil Grande Headdresses)

Untitled (Tehuanas in Huipil Grande Headdresses): 1 of Collection Gallery

Untitled (Tehuanas in Huipil Grande Headdresses): 2 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

Roberto Montenegro captured one of the most celebrated Mexican folk costumes in this painting. Six women stare directly at the viewer, faces ringed with white cotton halos created by the collars of a garment called the huipil grande. Modern artists embraced this large overdress, made and worn by the women of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico, as an expression of that region’s cultural heritage. Diego Rivera traveled to Tehuantepec to paint, and Frida Kahlo made several self-portraits wearing the huipil grande.

This choice of subject reflects an essential aspect of Montenegro’s philosophy. In 1940, he wrote, “our folk art, in every period, has served as a true symbol of the artistic instincts of the Mexican people.”

Title Untitled (Tehuanas in Huipil Grande Headdresses)

Artwork Date ca. 1940

Artist Roberto Montenegro

Life Dates 1885 - 1968

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Mexican

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Overall: 36 1/8 × 30 inches (91.8 × 76.2 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department American Art before 1950

Credit Museum Purchase, funds from Hill Memorial Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2019.99

Markings

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Provenance

2014, by descent, the artist's sister, Eva M. Nelson (Los Angeles, California, USA);
May 22-23, 2019, consigned (Christie's, New York, New York, USA);
2019-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

"Detroit Institute of Arts adds works to Native American collection, new works by women artists," Artdaily. Accessed on [November 4, 2021]. https://artdaily.cc/news/131545/Detroit-Institute-of-Arts-adds-works-to-Native-American-collection--new-works-by-women-artists#.YYQ0NWDMKUm.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Roberto Montenegro, Untitled (Tehuanas in Huipil Grande Headdresses), ca. 1940, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, funds from Hill Memorial Fund, 2019.99.