Ruelas, Julio (1870–1907)

Julio Ruelas (b. 21 June 1870; d. 16 September 1907), Mexican artist. Born in Zacatecas, Ruelas is one of the precursors of modernism in Mexico and the most important representative of symbolism in that country. In 1885 he enrolled at the National School of Fine Arts in Mexico City, where he received an academic training. In 1892 he traveled to Germany and studied at the Academy of Arts in Karlsruhe, where he became interested in the works of Arnold Boeklin. After his return to Mexico in 1895, Ruelas published his works in the Revista moderna, founded by the poet Jesús E. Valenzuela; this publication was extremely influential in disseminating the aesthetic of Latin American symbolists. In 1904 Ruelas went to Paris to perfect his etching technique. He also traveled to Belgium, where he may have seen the works of Félicien Rops. Although Ruelas created a number of paintings, he is basically known as an engraver and draftsman. He died in Paris, having produced a small but highly inventive body of work.

See alsoArt: The Twentieth Century .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Justino Fernández, El arte en el siglo XIX en México (1967), esp. pp. 146-147.

Teresa Del Conde, Julio Ruelas (1976).

Additional Bibliography

Rodríguez Lobat, Marisela. Julio Ruelas … siempre vestido de huraña melancolía: Temática y comentario a la obra ilustrativa de Julio Ruelas en la Revista moderna, 1898–1911. México: Universidad Iberoamericana, Departamento de Art, 1998.

                                          Ilona Katzew