Saturnino Herran (1887 - 1918) Mexican. Charcoal on Paper. Measure 8 3/4"in H x 6 1/2"in W and 12 1/2"in H x 9 1/2"in W with frame. "Saturnino Herran: A Bright Light Too Soon Extinguished" by Rita Pomade, Arts of Mexico At least ten years before the "Big Three" - Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros - came into their own as world-renown muralists, a lone painter was setting the groundwork. His name was Saturnino Herran. He was the first Mexican artist to envision the concept of a totally Mexican art. And he laid the foundation for the development of the muralist movement. In a catalogue dedicated to Herran's work published in 1997, Carlos Fuentes, the novelist, described the painter as the one who opened the way not only for the muralists but for all the nationalists who contributed so much to give the Mexican people a conscience of whom they are and who they could be. He was never to finish Our Gods. He worked on it for four years until his death in 1918 from a stomach ailment. The unfinished triptych still exists in several sections. It's considered a masterpiece and can be seen in the National Theater in Mexico City. His obituary filled the front page of the newspaper, El Pueblo. His name was the only headline. Even at the time of his death, Herran's contribution to Mexican art was understood by his fellow countrymen. His good friend and the poet, Ramon Lopez Velarde, wrote Oracion Funebre, a prayer for Herran. He read it a year after the painter's untimely death at the Escuela National Peparatoria. It's rare for the common people in a country to mourn an artist's death but such was Herran's impact on the lives of his fellow Mexicans. Though he died at 31 years old, his legacy is solid. He mixed classicism with modern art and executed this background through a Mexican sensibility. He understood the soul of his people, and he captured it masterfully.