Zúñiga, primarily known as a sculptor, produced a large number of drawings, often using Conté crayon, charcoal, and pastel, as preliminary studies for his sculptures or as independent works
Mujer Desnuda, 1964. Drawing
Francisco Zúñiga
Mujer Desnuda, 1964
Graphite on paper
Dimensions:
Image size: 25 H x 20 W in.
Frame size: 35 H x 40 W x 2 D in.
Signed front by the artist
Francisco Zúñiga produced both two- and three-dimensional works in a uniquely regionalized style, combining his classical training with Aztec forms. Though he made some abstract works, Zúñiga was best known for his nude figural works; his favorite subjects were female peasants native to Central America, whose full figures and otherwise “non-ideal” body types he depicted honestly. Zúñiga constantly expanded his practice to include work in new mediums. He made a majority of his sculptures in bronze, but also came to use alabaster, modeling clay, plaster, and marble. At the age of 60, he made his first lithograph. Zúñiga studied under sculptor Oliverio Martinez and painter Manuel Rodriguez Lozano at the Escuela de Talla Directa, though his first instructor was his father, sculptor Manuel Maria Zúñiga.
