Much has been written about “Dr. Atl,” the influential and Leonardo-esque artist born Gerardo Murillo in Guadalajara in 1875. John Pint wrote an excellent article in this newspaper in 2022, celebrating Dr. Atl’s birthday on October 3, and using good sources.
Well, the Ex Convento del Carmen is at it again, now marking Dr. Atl’s 150th birthday, with a show, “Permanencia de la memoria del Dr. Atl y el paisaje contemporáneo.” It includes 15 pieces by 15 contemporary artists influenced by his virtuosity, his love of nature (especially volcanoes) and his call to Mexican artists to throw off the fuddy-duddy shackles of the Old Masters and the Church and express something of themselves and their country.
In this latter focal point, Dr. Atl’s political writing was tinged with nationalism and even some untoward praise of Hitler and Mussolini, which he thankfully forgot about in later years (possibly after the horrors Fascism wreaked in Europe became common knowledge after World War II).
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