Manuel Alvarez Bravo 1902 – 2002 (100 years old!)

Manuel Alvarez Bravo

1902 – 2002(100 years old!)

Biography• Álvarez Bravo was born in Mexico City on February

4,1902• Came from a family of artists• Met several prominent artists who encouraged his work

as a young boy including Tina Modotti and Diego Rivera• Studied Painting and Music at Academia Nacional de

Bellas Artes in 1918 • Received his first camera at the age of 23• Alvarez became a professional photographer at the age

of 25. He was self taught

BIO Continued…………

• Photographed his Mexican culture and the growing Mexican Revolution

• Considered a surrealist (art that depicts dreams and/or fantasies)

An example of one of his surrealist images

Alvarez frequently photographed

inanimate objects in ways that gave them humanistic qualities.

Alvarez Bravo’s work

was often political but did not let it overwhelm

the personal aspects of his work.

Used a vintage Graflex camera, even though the new Leica 35mm

was readily available.

With a career that spanned nearly eighty years, Manuel Alvarez Bravo has long been recognized as one of

the foremost figures in the history of photography.

His work has been included

in countless exhibitions, including a

collection of 187 photos displayed at

the Museum of Modern Art in New

York.

Before the MOMA

exhibit, many of the works included in it

were not seen since their

original exhibit in the 1930’s.