Europe and the Jaguar

Carlos Almaraz, Europe and the Jaguar, 1982, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Gift of The Friends of the Corcoran), 2020.20.7
Carlos Almaraz, Europe and the Jaguar, 1982, oil on canvas, unframed: 72 × 72 in. (182.9 × 182.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Gift of The Friends of the Corcoran), 2020.20.7

Artwork Details

Title
Europe and the Jaguar
Artist
Date
1982
Location
Dimensions
unframed: 72 × 72 in. (182.9 × 182.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Gift of The Friends of the Corcoran)
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Performing arts
  • Figure group
Object Number
2020.20.7
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2020.20.7

Artwork Description

A train runs through a cityscape of vibrant pink and blue, chugging past an array of mysterious figures that populate the night sky. Below, a Mesoamerican-looking jaguar with blocky, stylized features holds hands with a nude woman. Their joined arms stretch above a dapper man smoking beneath them.

Carlos Almaraz uses these cryptic characters to suggest larger ideas and to reflect on the complex relationship between the cultures of Mexico, where he was born, and the United States, where he moved as a child. Here, symbols of ancient America, modern Europe, and the contemporary United States are joined. Untethered to a specific time and place, Almaraz's figures frolic across a noirish and dreamlike urban landscape.

Works by this artist (15 items)

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George Bellows, Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Wase, 1924, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Paul Mellon, 1967.39.1
Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Wase
Artist
Date1924
oil on canvas
On view
George Bellows, The Model, Second Stone, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Frank McClure, 1979.98.26
The Model, Second Stone
Artist
lithograph
Not on view
George Bellows, The Black Hat, 1921, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1972.11
The Black Hat
Artist
Date1921
lithograph on paper
Not on view
George Bellows, The Irish Fair, from the series The Wind Bloweth, 1923, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Frank McClure, 1979.98.27
The Irish Fair, from the series The Wind Bloweth
Artist
Date1923
lithograph on paper
Not on view

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Date1941-1952
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Claire Falkenstein, Untitled, 1976, embossed paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.18, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
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Date1976
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Claire Falkenstein, Mandala, 1977, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.19, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
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Date1977
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Les Quais de la Seine a Paris
Artist
Date1917
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Not on view