| Angelina Beloff (Ангелина Белофф) |
|
|---|---|
| Born | June 23, 1879 Saint Petersburg |
| Died | December 30, 1969 (aged 90) Mexico City |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Field | painting, sculpture |
Angelina Beloff (Russian: Ангелина Белофф; b. Saint Petersburg, June 23, 1879 – d. Mexico City, December 30, 1969) was a Russian painter and sculptor, who worked predominantly in Mexico.
Beloff originally decided to study pediatrics, but then she matriculated to St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1904, where she studied until 1909. Afterwards she visited Henri Matisse's academy in Paris, and later Hermen Anglada Camarasa's academy, where she metMaría Gutiérrez Blanchard, a cousin of Germán Cueto. Additionally she studied wood and stone sculpture. In 1909 she also met Diego Rivera in Belgium, whom she married two years later. They had a son named Diego, who died at the age of 14 months in 1917, during World War I. At this time Rivera had also an affair with Marie Vorobieff, a Russian painter also known as "Marevna". With her he had a daughter named Marika, whom he did not accept. In spite of this circumstance, the marriage lasted twelve years, until Rivera returned to Mexico for good in 1921. The terms of the divorce required Rivera to give Beloff alimony, which he never did. Eleven years later, Beloff finally had enough money to look for Rivera in Mexico, but he had remarried twice by that time. Rivera denied that he was in a relationship with Beloff, and dismissed her from his life. This fate inspired Elena Poniatowska to publish a series of fictive letters of Beloff, titled "Querido Diego" (dear Diego).
Beloff by herself earned money by instructing courses of sculpture. She was member of the Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios, and co-founder of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana in 1949.[1]