Francisco Zúñiga’s father was a sculptor, the creator of hundreds of religious sculptures. Like many of his siblings, Zúñiga took classes in drawing, and around the age of sixteen, he began training as a sculptor in his father’s workshop.
Zúñiga grew up in San José, Costa Rica. As he got older, like many other artists of his generation, he was drawn to Mexico City’s vibrant, internationally famous art scene. Zúñiga moved to Mexico City, and began studying art at the Escuela de Talla Directa in 1936.
As a student, Zúñiga was an admirer of the sculpture of Auguste Rodin. He was also a great admirer of the monumental sculpture of Ancient Egypt. However, shortly after he arrived in Mexico City, Zúñiga had an experience which, perhaps more than any other, would shape the course of his career as an artist.
Soon after he arrived, Zúñiga happened to visit Mexico City’s Museo Nacional de Antropología. As he meandered through the galleries, admiring Aztec, Olmec, and Mayan artifacts, the artwork he saw on display there kindled in Zúñiga a lifelong passion for pre-Columbian figurative art. Subsequently, he resolved to attempt in his work a synthesis of traditional European, Modern, and pre-Columbian sculptural elements.
Zúñiga did much of his modelling in clay. Sometimes, the final piece was carved in stone, most often either marble or alabaster, but his preferred medium was cast bronze.
Just as it had been when he was a child, drawing was an essential part of Zúñiga’s process. He also enjoyed drawing for its own sake. In addition to his sculptures, Zúñiga produced several folios of lithographs, including his 1982 folio, Impresiones de Egipto.
Zúñiga’s sculptures and prints largely feature majestic, naturalistically grounded female figures. They have been exhibited around the world, and Zúñiga’s work can now be found in a number of prominent museums in the Untied States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Over the years, his work has also served as an inspiration to other artists, including my father, the sculptor Frederick Hart.
