Retrato de niños (Pareja de niños) 1966

Rufino Tamayo made this painting of two children, we think, without a specific date and using oil paint. The pinky purple wash that sets the mood of the painting, feels almost like the colour of bubble gum you find stuck to the bottom of your shoe after a baseball game. The gestures are simplified, and the forms of the figures are built up through loose, gestural brushstrokes, as if he were trying to catch the fleeting essence of childhood. I'm struck by the way Tamayo uses colour to define the forms – see how he uses those touches of blue, right next to the pink, to create the impression of depth and volume. The painting is raw and immediate, as if Tamayo is trying to capture something essential about the human spirit, and you could easily see a little Matta in this. Ultimately, this painting is about looking at the world with fresh eyes and finding beauty in the simplest of things.