Maria Izquierdo
Maria Izquierdo’s Altar of Our Lady of Sorrows (1943) is an artwork in a similar vein to Kahlo but one which more explicitly explores the nuanced colonial identity of Mexican women. In painting a household altar, Izquierdo aims to validate the artistic production of Mexican women. This is defiant against imported Western conceptions of art in terms of what may or may not be rendered in art but, even more so, it is critical of the bourgeoning Latin American artistic identity. Similarly to Kahlo she identifies an innate inequality within society and, more specifically, the art world wherein the creativity of women is undervalued. Therefore, by painting the custom in all its vibrancy she is presenting it as equal to other forms of art. By depicting a Christian altar Izquierdo also raises the complex idea of the colonial power of religion. While the artwork itself has no obvious judgment of whether this is a good or bad practice, by depicting a commonly ignored domestic ritual Izquierdo challenges the viewer to question how colonial power is reproduced in modern Mexico. She interrogates whether the restrictions placed upon women are a result of a Latin American identity or religious one, or if those two things can even be separated. This artwork shows how consistent exploration of identity leads to art which is unique to its context, in this way it can engage with questions of colonialism without it being defined by Western counterparts.