Dr. Atl was a multifaceted genius who dedicated his life to creating and investigating almost from the shadowsbecause in his time he did not obtain the deserved recognition because of many factors, despite his proximity to other intellectuals of the time. But so it was, he hid and when he came to light he did not do it alone, but with endless ideas and creations that could only be in the mind of a painter, naturalist, narrator and volcanologist.
Indeed, Gerardo Murillo was a little, He even became controversial by his own personality and of course, for the tortuous romance he maintained with Carmen Mondragón, better known as Nahui Ollin. Even with this, his colleagues described him as an misunderstood genius or as a curious character that rarely let himself be vulnerable. Perhaps because of the fact that the «rarity» of the time was part of his personality and his work, even of his concerns of life. But Dr. Atl is much more than a work of art or a story of heartbreak, It is a legend whose story will remain forever in our imaginary.
Who was Dr. Atl?
Before arriving at the nickname you have to understand The origin of Gerardo Murillo himself. He was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco on October 3, 1875 and was known in his circle for being a naturalist or researcher of nature dedicated to finding the conductive thread between her and art. But he did not settle for his investigations, he devised what we know today as muralist movement, because he sought ways to bring art to great scales that moved feelings and aroused the social conscience of each person who saw them. Thus, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, María Izquierdo and more appropriated the movement combining it with their own styles.
He also dedicated himself to reform Mexico after the Mexican revolutionwhich led him to make art since he was 19, in the workshop of Felipe Castro, but at age 22, Porfirio Díaz assigned him a scholarship to study in Europe, specifically in England, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. But there he dedicated himself to philosophy and criminal law, although everything ended in Journalism and paintinghis true passions. Then, on his return in Mexico he began his stage as «The agitator», Nickname that he had won for his protests against the Academy or for having led the famous protest before the Ministry of Public Instruction and Fine Arts, for the exhibition of Spanish painters Ignacio Zuloaga and Sorolla.