and Premonition) in 1947. Painting herself holding her own severed head by the hair, the tree branches surrounding her also dangle severed heads. Diminishing figures run along the lower half of the painting while tears fall from her severed head. Although the painting can be interpreted as surrealistic, it is often interpreted as evidence to the suffering she endured in her final years of life. Impact María Izquierdo's career helped opened the door for many female artists. The Mexican artist's prestige is often compared to that of Marie Laurencin from the School of Paris and although she is not as popularly known as Frida Kahlo, she helped establish a foundation for female artists. Maintaining value in art rooted in traditional Mexican values, Izquierdo's art stood out for its ingenious portrayals of Mexico among an area of highly politicized art. Personal life and demise At age fourteen, she had an arranged marriage to a senior army officer, Colonel Cándido Posadas, and bore three children (two boys and a girl) by the time she was 17 years old. It is said that her daughter influenced some of Izquierdo's work, including "Niñas Durmiendo". She divorced around 1928. Izquierdo had a second marriage, also short-lived, with Chilean painter Raul Uribe. She suffered a stroke in the mid-1940s which had a significant effect on her health, work and dexterity, but she persisted. Although her last years were some of the most painful in her life, she did not stop painting until she was physically unable. In December 1955, she died of a second stroke in Mexico City. Further reading References 1902 births 1955 deaths Artists from Jalisco People from San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco Mexican women painters Modern painters Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" faculty 20th-century Mexican women artists 20th-century Mexican painters