Francisco Toledo

Francisco Toledo (1940-2019) was one of the most important Mexican artists of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, whose visionary works drew deeply on the Zapotec cultural heritage of his native Oaxaca and on the mythic traditions of indigenous Mexico. Born in Juchitán, Oaxaca, Toledo spent his childhood between Juchitán and Minatitlán, Veracruz. As a young man, he followed his father into the jungles of Oaxaca on wild animal hunts, an experience that gave him an intimate knowledge of the flora and fauna that would become central to his mature imagery.

Later, Toledo moved to Mexico City, where he took up the trade of lithography from the engraving workshops at the local School of Arts and Crafts. In 1959, after developing his craft, Toledo exhibited his works at Antonio Souza's gallery in Mexico and the Fort Worth Art Center in Texas. These early years informed the artist he would become. "Toledo's is the art of shamanism," Christopher Goodwin of The Guardian wrote in 2000, "in which people are transformed into beasts and animals and may take on human characteristics." Toledo's fascination with the metaphors of indigenous animals as symbols of Mexican history and mythology abounds throughout his work, and his imagery is populated by iguanas, monkeys, insects, rabbits, and other creatures drawn from the natural and mythological world of his native region.

Toledo's first one-man show at nineteen years old set the stage for his travels to Paris, where he was supported by the poet Octavio Paz and the painter Rufino Tamayo, two of the most important Mexican cultural figures of the twentieth century. His years in Paris deepened his engagement with international modernism while strengthening his commitment to the indigenous traditions of Oaxaca that would remain his lifelong subject.

While Toledo preferred anonymity, his service to cultural preservation and the celebration of traditional imagery gained him national acclaim. He founded numerous cultural institutions in Oaxaca, including museums, libraries, and community art centers, and he was a tireless political activist who spoke out on behalf of indigenous rights and environmental protection. On his death, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico announced the news on Twitter, calling Toledo "a true defender of nature, customs, and traditions of our people." His works are held in major museums throughout Mexico and internationally.