Federico Cantu Garza

Federico Cantú Garza was a Mexican artist who was considered to be a member of the Mexican muralism movement, but his style was different from the main figures of the movement, such as Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros. He adhered to more classical and academic forms of painting and sculpture, and he was influenced by European artists such as Picasso, Mateo Hernández and José de Creeft. He traveled and lived in Europe and the United States from 1924 to 1934, where he met and befriended many avant-garde artists and intellectuals. He returned to Mexico in 1934 and became involved in various artistic and cultural projects, such as co-founding the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana and the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda". He also created murals and sculptures for public and private buildings, such as the Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social, the Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, the Universidad Intercontinental and the Museo Nacional de Antropología. His best known work is a sculpture called La maternidad, which depicts a mother holding her child. This sculpture was adopted as the logo of the IMSS. He also worked in other media, such as engraving, drawing and photography. He was married twice and had ten children, some of whom also became artists. He died in 1989 at the age of 81.