Two Women Combing Their Hair

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Two stylized, nude female figures sitting on fabric or a blanket on the floor and brushing their hair. The wall behind them is a light pink color.

Artist Rufino Tamayo (Mexican, 1899–1991)

Title Two Women Combing Their Hair

Date 1941

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Framed: 51 1/16 × 74 3/8 × 1 1/2 in. (129.7 × 188.9 × 3.8 cm)
Stretcher: 44 7/8 x 68 3/16 in. (114 x 173.2 cm)

Credit Line Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Henry R. Hope, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 82.65

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About this Work

Born to Zapotec parents in Oaxaca, Rufino Tamayo was one of the greatest Mexican artists of the twentieth century. He was influenced by French modernist styles such as Cubism, as well as the pre-Hispanic traditions of his native Mexico. In this painting, the solid forms and simple geometry of the figures are reminiscent of the neoclassical style cultivated by Picasso during the 1920s and 30s. On the other hand, the subdued earth-tone palette is reminiscent of indigenous Mexican pottery. Tamayo was more concerned with form than with the specificity of his subject matter; thus he portrays the women as mythical, universal archetypes.

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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Two Women Combing Their Hair | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=82.65