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 (12 items)

View all artworks
A. Mouron Cassandre, Integration, from the Early Series, 1937, gouache and scratchwork on prepared paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.54
Integration, from the Early Series
Artist
Date1937
gouache and scratchwork on prepared paper
Not on view
A. Mouron Cassandre, First in Development, from the Early Series, 1937, gouache on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.52
First in Development, from the Early Series
Artist
Date1937
gouache on paperboard
Not on view
A. Mouron Cassandre, Versatility, from the Early Series, 1937, gouache on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.60
Versatility, from the Early Series
Artist
Date1937
gouache on paperboard
Not on view
A. Mouron Cassandre, Unity, from the Early Series, 1937, gouache on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.59
Unity, from the Early Series
Artist
Date1937
gouache on paperboard
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Browse All Artworks
Walton Ford, Tur, 2007, watercolor and gouache on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the American Art Forum and Nion T. McEvoy, 2008.4A-C, © 2007, Walton Ford
Tur
Artist
Date2007
watercolor and gouache on paper
Not on view
Sean Scully, Munich 3.18.09, 2009, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2011.7.1, © 2009, Sean Scully
Munich 3.18.09
Artist
Date2009
watercolor on paper
Not on view