The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 16, 2026

A grainy horizontally oriented grayscale print depicts the soft-edged shadow of a leafless tree on a light gray wall. A dark vertical column borders our left, and a dark horizontal ledge runs across the bottom. The shadow's thick trunk and limbs extend from our left, giving way to a blurring network of thin twigs fading toward our right. Small cracks are visible across the wall's surface.

Paisaje inventado

1972

Manuel Álvarez Bravo

(Mexican, 1902–2002)
Mexico
gelatin silver print
Gift of Alan and Monah L. Gettner 2023.197.15
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

It is the artist’s personal outlook and cultural heritage that unify the disparate subjects photographed by Manuel Alvarez Bravo.

Description

Manuel Alvarez Bravo sought to represent the viewpoint of Mexico’s Indigenous cultural heritage and its peasants as he chronicled their encounter with the country’s rapid modernization. His work is often considered Surrealist, but he never formally identified with that art movement. The odd juxtapositions, occasional humor, and quixotic viewpoint of his images may derive from growing up in a culture that contains both Indigenous and European traditions.
  • ?–2023
    Monah Gettner, Hyperion Press, Ltd., New York, NY, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    December 4, 2023–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Paisaje inventado|url=false|author=Manuel Álvarez Bravo|year=1972|access-date=16 August 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.197.15