A controversial painting depicting Mexican revolutionary Emilianio Zapata as a gay icon is creating waves in the capital.
“La Revolución” by artist Fabián Cháirez shows Zapata naked, astride a horse, wearing high heels and sprouting a pink sombrero. The horse is sexually aroused.
The portrait is part of the exhibit “Emiliano. Zapata Después de Zapata,” which includes 140 works of art of Zapata, the chief leader of the peasant revolution in the state of Morelos, and the inspiration of the agrarian movement known as Zapatismo.
The grandson of Zapata, Jorge Zapata González, announced Tuesday that he will sue the Mexican Institute of Bellas Artes (INBA) over the painting, which he said presents his grandfather in a manner that is an offense to his memory and his surviving relatives. He described Cháirez, who is also named in the lawsuit, as an “unknown artist in search of fame.” Adding insult to injury, relatives said, is that the INBA used the image in its Twitter and Facebook publicity material.
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