Ezequiel Negrete, At Lunch

"In 1924, the painter, engraver and sculptor, Ezequiel Negrete, entered the Churubusco Branch of the Open Air Painting School, an institution whose curriculum placed emphasis on being close to nature in order to depict it in a free-style manner, and which was ideologically focused on the pursuit on social justice, since its main aim was to enable the children of peasants and laborers to improve their social status by giving them access to artistic education. In 1925, he became assistant director of the Xochimilco branch of the said school, and, in 1933, was officially appointed teaching assistant to its director. Showing everyday life without frills, At Lunch, which is a typical Costumbrista product of the said institution's philosophy, is a color full composition whose three main areas are filled with detail and crowded with poor people. The clerk in The Primavera grocery store on the right is weighing merchandise in front of a client wearing a blue shawl, while, in the background, in full view of shoppers, is a pile of boxes full of laundry soap, along with a bunch of candles and endless drawers filled with items for sale. Also, the scene includes newspapers thrown on the floor by customers, and two dogs waiting to snap up some morsel of food. This piece, which bears the artists signature in the bottom right-hand corner, was bought in 1993 at the Rafael Matos Auction Rooms, and subsequently donated to the MUNAL by the National Fund for Culture and the Arts." [source]