Mexican art history does not deal explicitly with naive art although among Mexican artists this aesthetic expression exists in singular form, displaying a specific feeling for life, colour and shape.

The discovery and significance of this kind of painting in Mexico is attributable both to the personal efforts of a number of artists, and to art critics who, in their intensive study of the phenomenon, succeeded in bringing many highly valuable works to public attention.

The rich history of Mexican painting in the l9th century includes an exceptional type of artistic expression whose forms and colours caused it to be designated "folk painting."

The word "folk" is not the only one defining such works; others are "naive" or "primitive."

In relation to academic art in Mexico, this trend is so important that it holds a unique place in the history of Mexican art. Consisting of a large number of works, differing in subject and quality, it is found in various parts of the provinces, the most outstanding being Muchoacan, Guanajuato, Durango, Puebla and Veracruz. Mexican folk art is rightfully said to represent the most profound expression of the Mexican spirit, to be the work of painters who denied and opposed academic art. A considerable number of these works are anonymous, proving in even greater measure that the artists were men of natural talent.

A typical feature of Mexican folk art is its familiar brilliant play of colours, wondrously vibrant and glowing. The picturesque composition of the works and the rich variety of halftones and nuances owes much to that radiance and colour. Mexican market-places, overflowing with fruit, flowers and pottery, are a source of these forms and colours. From that vital energy, folk art emerged and grew.

In Mexican l9th-century painting, this folk or naive art is sometimes richer and more interesting in its themes than the formal art of academic painters, especially in depicting events from the life of the people. The artists were men of the people, belonging to them and painting for them.

Works by folk artists portray both historical events in Mexico in the l9th century and folk customs, depicted with patience and devotion.

City scenes are also present in these works but for the most part the artists are preoccupied with life on the farms and haciendas: work in the fields, livestock grazing on spacious pastures, sugar produetion, celebrations and moments of rejoicing in the lives of the hired hands and peasants. Other details of their lives are also portrayed - bullfighting, cockfighting, the taming of animals. All aspects of life were committed to canvas. Little was left out-even attacks on stage coaches, and cowboys herding cattle, inspired the painters. It was a typically Mexican world they showed, now lost in the mists of time or transformed under the impact of new conditions.

In folk painting, religious art was among the most extensive section. Altar paintings and frescoes reflected the faith and devotion of believers. Paintings were sometimes commissioned out of gratitude for divine aid in overcoming dangers, illness or other kinds of misfortune.

The forerunners of this religious painting are found in Mexico in the l7th century. The fact that it still exists today shows that it has not lost its relevance. Most works of this kind are simple in form and bear the recognisable hallmarks of folk art.

Altar paintings usually have two planes: one depicting the real life of the believer and the other representing the salvation scenes of miracles. The artist has plumbed his imagination to portray supernatural powers: miracles and God's intervention go beyond the bounds of logical reality and can be accepted only in terms of unquestioning faith.

Among the most outstanding folk or naive painters are Agustin Arrieta and Ernesto Icasa.

Agustin Arrieta (1802-1874), an Indian, was born in Tlaxcala. While still a youth he left for the town of Pueblo, where he was first recognised as a talented painter. Early works show him to have been an imaginative illustrator of allegories and mythological themes and reveal a certain discipline, suggesting that he may have had some artistic training. Later he switched to other subjects. Innovations introduced by him derive not only from his maturing as a painter but also from new value judgements about life. The teeming masses, family serenity in the homes of peasants and soldiers, the modest meals of farmers, the guilelessness of drunks, the loveliness of young girls - all these are parts of the mosaic of Mexican life as portrayed and interpreted by Arrieta's brush. The types of people he represents belong to certain social strata which nurture specific traditional customs. Equal attention is given to the various features of the environment: flowers, fruit, tools and orna- ments in everyday use.

Ernesto Icasa (1866-1935), born in Mexico City, stands out for the number of his works, their quality and singularity. Icasa was a wagelabourer and was consequently well-acquainted with the life of peasants. His talent is exceptional, especially since there is no evidence of his having had any training in painting. A study of his entire opus reveals a strong streak of folklore influence. A careful observer and faithful interpreter of peasant ways, Icasa's name is a synonym for genuine folk, naive art.

This brief survey of folk art in Mexico stresses its generally recognised importance, in which the l9th century holds a place of special merit. Today, too, however, in the farthest corners of the country there are new artists, more or less known, who continue this type of art, among them Camile Hernandez and Ezequiel Negrete. Artistic imagination, aesthetic inspiration, a wide spectrum of bright colours - all features of Mexican art - have made for high artistic quality also in most of the folk paintings being produced today. Their discovery and the full recognition of their worth are only a question of time.