Portrait of Miguel Arochi y Baeza

The history of the portrait painting tradition in Mexico is rich and layered, it intersects various art movements and spans over a vast period. Primarily emerging in the 16th century as an instrument for the Spanish monarchs to exalt their power and authority, it gradually evolved into a sophisticated, distinct genre by the 18th century, a period which is also classified as the "golden age" of Mexican art. The newfound artistic freedom experienced by the practitioners of the 18th century allowed them to explore their intuitive practice, consequently resulting in the departure from the bureaucratic and royal roots of portraiture. Local painters began to form academies and proudly signed their works with "Pinxit Mexici" (painted in Mexico) to denote a unique regional style. There still remained an underlying influence of court art and it attained visibility through analogous branches. Bourgeois art became a prominent facet in the field, as wealthy locals dressed in elite silk brocades and vibrant local textiles consistently commissioned portraits of themselves. Following independence in 1821 CE, portraiture transmuted from an exclusive luxury into a tool for defining Mexican identity and documentation. In this era, regional portraitists started to deal with their practice without conforming to rigid European standards which was followed by the 20th century, when Frida Kahlo revolutionised Mexican portraiture on a global level. Belonging to the class of portraitists that emerged in the golden era of Mexican art, Jose Maria Estrada is a distinct portraitist of the 19th century Mexico, who is traditionally identified as a portrayer of the lower, less privileged strata of society. Interestingly, the above portrait is a conventional example of bourgeois art and is a representation of Miguel Arochi, the son of Francisco Arochi; a prosperous businessman who had settled in Guadalajara. It indicates the engagement of the painter with traditional genres of painting as a probable means of livelihood. The figure has been depicted in the frontal view, with a letter in his right hand, having a series of annotations alluding to respect for Canon Domingo Sanchez Reza, his supposed godfather. The artwork, like most of Jose's works, was executed with the "Alla Prima" method (coming from the Italian phrase meaning "at first attempt"). This technique involves painting directly onto a blank canvas without a preliminary drawing or sketch. The formalistic aspects of the painting denote a childlike character exhibited by Jose's visuality, which was later coined as "Naivete or Naive Art". The term initially was used to refer to amateur work but it later became a highly respected, official art movement championed by pioneers such as Grandma Moses, Henry Rousseau and more who bypassed the limiting classical approach encouraged by fine art academies. In the contemporary sense, the word describes a unique aesthetic language marked by a childlike approach mentioned earlier of Jose, rather than a literal lack of skill. Jose's visual grammar showcases influence from the regional Jalisco school of painting alongside the blend of Neo-Hispanic art canons concerning academic and individualistic perspectives. This makes Jose Maria Estrada a particularly important figure in the regional context of Mexican art history.