Francisco Icaza González Dies: Mexican Painter, Diplomat Dead At 84

Francisco Icaza González, the Mexian painter, writer and diplomat who was one of the central figures in Mexian art over the last 50 years has died in Mexico aged 84. Rafael Tovar y de Teresa, president of Mexican cultural body Conaculta, offered his condolences for the loss of "a protagonist of Mexican painting." Likewise the National Foundation for Arts and Culture (FONCA) and the National Institute of Fine Arts mourned the loss of Icaza on their Twitter accounts.

Francisco Icaza “was a warrior devoted to his ideals and an artist willing to make his spirit of transformation palpable footprint in the world of fine arts" said the statement from Conaculta. The painter was part of what is known as the 'Generación de la Ruptura' or the 'Generation of Rupture.' He was the founder of numerous significant movements in painting including Nueva Presencia, Salón Independiente and Confrontación 66. He was also a member of the National System of Creators at FONCA.

Francisco Icaza's work was heavily influenced by modernist styles while simultaneously exerting a strong influence on contemporary issues in art. He also dabbled in abstraction, surrealism and cubism. Icaza was born in El Salvador to Mexican diplomat parents. He lived in Costa Rica, Cuba, Germany and El Salvador before settling in Mexico in 1993. He was a student of Rufino Tamayo in New York and also studied under painter Antonio Rodríguez Luna.