WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›José Luis Cuevas

José Luis Cuevas

Mexican, 1934

WA-00289794

Printmakingmodernism

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (2)

WikidataQ475650 DBpediaJosé_Luis_Cuevas

Field Verification (3 fields)

3 cross-verified · 0 single-source

Is PublishedManual· 100%✓
Birth yearDuplicate Merge· 85%✓
NationalityDuplicate Merge· 85%✓

Source Registry (1)

Dbpedia
Tier 2 · Strong source85%

About

Why this artist matters now

José Luis Cuevas was a Mexican painter, printmaker, and draftsman whose expressive figuration emerged in postwar Latin America as a direct challenge to abstraction's dominance. Working primarily in ink, charcoal, and oil, he developed a gestural approach to the human form marked by psychological intensity and formal distortion. His practice centered on drawing as a primary medium, treating it as a complete artistic statement rather than preparatory work. Cuevas became a defining voice for figurative art's continued relevance in the mid-twentieth century.

Source: DBpedia · Trust score: 85% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

modernism

Medium

Printmaking

Related Artists

12 in graph

Canonical record

Artworks (9)

WattsOS

Soldier

2004 · lithograph

Image: 53.3 x 38.1 cm (21 x 15 in.); Sheet: 53.3 x 38.1 cm (21 x 15 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Beach by José Luis Cuevas

H. 13-1/2, W. 26-1/2 inches (34.3 x 67.3 cm.)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Drowsy Bohemian

1979 · Ink, colored pencils, and graphite on paper

H. 15, W. 15-1/2 inches (38.1 x 39.4 cm.)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Two Self-Portraits

1978 · Ink on paper

H. 10, W. 14 inches (25.4 x 35.6 cm.)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Self-Portraits in the Vitatop Club

1978 · Ink, watercolor, and graphite on paper

H. 14-1/2, W. 11 inches (36.8 x 27.9 cm.)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Facts for Two Authenticities

1978 · Ink and wash on paper

H. 11-3/4, W. 22-1/4 inches (29.8 x 56.5 cm.)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Two Figures

1978 · Cut and pasted paper, black marker, pen and black, blue, and brown inks, and colored pencil on wove paper

12 1/2 in. × 11 in. (31.8 × 27.9 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Double Letter

1977 · Watercolor, pen and brush and black ink, and black ink wash on paper (recto); black ink wash, pen and black ink, watercolor, and colored pencil on paper (verso)

14 in. × 17 3/4 in. (35.6 × 45.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View all 9 artworks →

Artwork sources (3)

9 published of 9 catalogued · 1 with image

The Met
7 published
Wikidata
1 published1 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
1 published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 2)

5 entries · 2 sources

Beach by José Luis Cuevas
1996 · Wikidata · 4 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_url
Soldier
2004 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy

Relationships

Movements1

modernism

Background

Education

Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado La Esmeralda

Visual Arts

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

No exhibitions or timeline entries yet