Man on Fire

Luis Jiménez, Man on Fire, 1969, fiberglass in acrylic urethane resin on painted wood fiberboard base, 106 ¹⁄₄ x 80 ¹⁄₄ x 29 ¹⁄₂ in. (269.9 x 203.8 x 74.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Philip Morris Incorporated, 1979.124, © 1969, Luis Jiménez

Artwork Details

Title: Man on Fire
Artist: Luis Jiménez
Date: 1969
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
3rd Floor
/
North Wing
Dimensions: 106 ¹⁄₄ x 80 ¹⁄₄ x 29 ¹⁄₂ in. (269.9 x 203.8 x 74.9 cm)
Copyright: © 1969, Luis Jiménez
Credit Line: Gift of Philip Morris Incorporated
Mediums: fiberglass
Mediums Description: fiberglass in acrylic urethane resin on painted wood fiberboard base
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Allegory — element — fire
Figure male — full length
Figure male — nude
Object Number: 1979.124
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1979.124

Artwork Description

How would you portray your childhood hero? Luis Jiménez honors Cuauhtémoc, the Aztec ruler who was tortured with fire during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Growing up in Texas near the Mexican border, Jiménez heard stories of Cuauhtémoc's bravery from his grandmother and thought of him as a "kind of Superman."

The burning man stands defiantly upright, even as he is wrapped in flames. Jiménez critiques histories of racialized violence while representing resistance and self-determination.

Label text from The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture November 8, 2024 -- September 14, 2025

La obra Man of Fire, de Jiménez reinterpreta un ícono indígena en términos contemporáneos. Utilizando un estilo del arte pop con superficies industriales semejantes a los autos deportivos, el artista hace referencia a Cuauhtémoc, el emperador azteca torturado con fuego por los conquistadores españoles, y a Thich Quang Duc, el monje budista que se prendió fuego en protesta contra la guerra de Vietnam. Para Jiménez, la acción del monje tuvo eco en el sentimiento antibélico creciente de muchas comunidades latinas. La figura de tez oscura hecha por Jiménez ―que era también su autorretrato― reafirma la identidad indígena de los chicanos y las raíces de esta comunidad en el suroeste de los Estados Unidos antes de 1848.

Nuestra América: la presencia latina en el arte estadounidense, 2013

Works by this artist (24 items)

View all artworks

Man on Fire

Artist

Luis Jiménez

Date1969

fiberglass in acrylic urethane resin on painted wood fiberboard base

Model for “Fiesta”

Artist

Luis Jiménez

Date1986

cast fiberglass

Vaquero

Artist

Luis Jiménez

Datemodeled 1980/cast 1990

acrylic urethane, fiberglass, steel armature

Ball Rattlesnake

Artist

Luis Jiménez

Date1987

lithograph with glitter

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There are many equestrian monuments in the federal city of Washington, D.C., but the one in front of the National Museum of American Art [now called Smithsonian American Art Museum] is special. Learn more about Vaquero.

BETSY BROUN: There are many equestrian monuments in the federal city of Washington D.C., but the one in front of the National Museum of American Art is special. Standing 16 and a half feet high and made of fiberglass, it shows a Mexican-American cowboy on a bright blue, high-kicking horse. The figure is so energized that it almost looks like an animated cartoon. Part hero, part Zorro, this sculpture has one foot in the old traditions of equestrian sculpture and another in popular culture. This sculpture sits on a plinth in front of the museum’s entrance. It has become the emblem of the National Museum of American Art. You can just tell your cab driver, “I want to go to the museum with the blue horse out in front.” In choosing this work for our front door, we had a lot of considerations.

First, we love the way the spiraling energy of the sculpture and the vivid colors worked against the severe, classical columns of our building. Then, we thought this sculpture clearly signaled that our building was an art museum, not the Treasury Building or the Federal Mint. We thought it was good to use an image identified with part of America other than New York or Washington or any place on the East Coast. After all, we are a national museum, and this is a role we take seriously. As for saying American in a single image, what would work better than a cowboy? But by using a Mexican-American cowboy, we could also show that we know the original cowboys and their culture came from Mexico. After all, that’s why we speak of lariats, corrals, chaparrals, and locoweed. Finally, it seemed about right to feature the work of a living contemporary artist at our front door.

This “Vaquero” sculpture is by Luis Jiménez. Luis Jiménez was born in Texas and grew up working with his father at the family’s neon sign shop. Together they made neon flamenco dancers and men wearing sombreros for storefronts all over town. Later, he went to New York to work as an artist in the 1960s during a period when high art was being invaded by popular culture. This came naturally to Luis Jiménez. After two exhibitions in New York’s Graham Gallery, he returned to the Southwest in 1971. Then, he began to use the subjects that evoke the Southwestern region and his Mexican heritage.

Even before leaving New York, Luis had begun working on “Man on Fire,” an oversized figure of an Aztec martyr called Cuauhtemoc. This martyr was burned by the Spaniards. “Man on Fire” is more than a martyr, though. He’s also an Aztec Apollo, aflame with the holy fire of inspiration and a symbol of all artists. This gigantic drawing on two pieces of paper shows Jiménez’s working method. He makes full-size drawings for his sculptures and then models in clay on an armature, or a skeletal support structure, right in front of the drawing. The fiberglass is cast into molds in sections and the sections are then joined together to make huge but very lightweight sculptures.

The legend that Jiménez shows in this drawing tells of the tragic Aztec lovers Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, who are immortalized as twin volcanoes that today dominate Mexico City. It’s a story similar to that of Romeo and Juliet in European literature, the tender, tragic innocence of young love. By calling this study “Southwestern Pietà” and using the format of a dead figure held on the lap of a mourner, Jiménez also evokes the old, Christian image of the mourning Virgin holding the dead Christ. Like many of his subjects, this one reflects traditions of Catholic representation. Jiménez himself, however, was raised in a strict, Protestant environment. Jiménez’s family now lives with many different animal pets, from rabbits to horses. His ability to capture the vitality of animals is one of the great hallmarks of his art.

There are often disagreements about the interpretation of public sculptures. The commissioned “Vaquero” was installed in Moody Park in Houston’s Latino area of town. Some residents loved the vigorous figure. Others thought he looked like a stereotype of a drunken, Mexican bandito. A big debate spilled over into the Houston papers about this in 1993. Some people feared the sculpture would be a bad role model for Latino youths. To this, a letter writer wrote, “Hogwash. The Vaquero, good or bad, was no worse than many in history who conquered the West.” Someone else saw in this figure “a reminder of our rugged, individualistic ancestry. My great-grandfather was such a man.” In Washington, the discussion about our nation’s history and the heritage of our many different peoples has a special focus. That’s probably the best reason for us to put this vaquero in front of our building.

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