Early years
Lola Álvarez Bravo seemed not to know what to do, however, it was clear that she wanted to develop outside the parameters established in the Mexican society of her time. The death of her mother followed by the death of her father when she was 13 years old, seemed to have truncated her destiny, moving together with her brother Miguel to their uncles' house. Her education was surrounded by a religious environment, having been interned for two years in a school run by the Teresian nuns.
Lola Álvarez Bravo seemed not to know what to do, however, it was clear that she wanted to develop outside the parameters established in the Mexican society of her time. The death of her mother followed by the death of her father when she was 13 years old, seemed to have truncated her destiny, moving together with her brother Miguel to their uncles' house. Her education was surrounded by a religious environment, having been interned for two years in a school run by the Teresian nuns.
"Since I was little, with my father, I thought that I had to do something that was not common and ordinary, although they educated me very badly, they educated me for everything useless, because what I hated most in my life is that they ordered me and limited my freedom."
Lola Álvarez Bravo1
She met who would be her husband once she finished high school since he was a friend of her brother. She began as an assistant to her husband (Manuel Álvarez Bravo) and later they married. Lola Á. Bravo took up photography professionally at the time her husband fell ill and she had to finish a project. It was from this moment when he could begin to develop the knowledge that he had previously acquired in a self-taught way.
Beginning of his photographic career
In 1927, in Mexico City, she and her husband created an art gallery in addition to inaugurating what would be her first professional photographic studio: Álvarez Bravo Photography Studio. In this studio, she not only worked together with her husband but with other artists such as Rufino Tamayo and María Izquierdo (both painters), with whom she directed her first collective exhibition including works by Diego Rivera and Agustín Lazo (political muralist and painter, respectively).
Although Lola Á. Bravo began to become known among Mexican artists, it was not until the forced deportation of her friend and photographer Tina Modotti that she was able to get her first camera of her own. Tina Modotti sold her two cameras to the Álvarez Bravo couple in order to raise enough money and leave the country. One of the cameras was kept by Manuel and the other, a Graflex, was kept by Lola.
Development and stardom
With the subsequent divorce between Lola and Manuel, she did not eliminate the surnames she had adopted from her ex-husband, since artists and colleagues knew her by that name. The friendships established and a series of fortuitous events thanks to her dedication and work, led her to a profitable development in her photographic works. One of her greatest clients and friends is the well-known Frida Kahlo, with whom she worked with and for her, being the first person to show the artist's pictorial work. From a personal effort driven by her own determination, she presented her work to various personalities who supported her and was able to present her first personal exhibition in 1944, at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.
"When Frida spoke, when she walked, when she painted, when she expressed herself, she already inspired something. To me, it was like birds and flowers and knitted bedspreads; a Mexican style that concentrated an era and poured through it. Frida was that."
Lola Álvarez Bravo2
Her modernist style, showed the daily life of people while playing with the lights and shadows of the moment he portrayed. The recognition of her work was marked by different moments, however, her appointment as Director of Photography at the National Institute of Fine Arts was one of the most memorable. Lola Álvarez Bravo continued with her personal exhibitions until, at 86 years of age, she lost her sight. Finally, his death on July 31, 1993, left an artistic legacy that is collected at the Center for Creative Photography (CCP) at the University of Arizona, in Tucson. For the photographer, her photographs "represent a Mexico that once existed." 3
NOTES.-
1. Alberto López. «Lola Álvarez Bravo, la retratista del modernismo cotidiano». Spain: El País, 04/04/2020.
2. Javier Aranda Luna. «La memoria de Lola Álvarez Bravo». Mexico: La Jornada, 26/04/2017.
3. Ibidem, (1).
2. Javier Aranda Luna. «La memoria de Lola Álvarez Bravo». Mexico: La Jornada, 26/04/2017.
3. Ibidem, (1).
