Catrín Calavera

Availability: Not For Sale - In Private Collection

Artist: Marie Dannyelle

Year: 2025

Medium: Acrylic on canvas

Dimensions: 20 × 16 inches

Catrín Calavera is a commissioned work that straddles the line between portrait and symbolic study. Drawing on the Catrín/Calavera tradition from Mexican Día de los Muertos imagery, it transforms the sitter into an elegant yet haunting figure -a skull in formal attire, with the sitter’s striking eyes visible within the skull’s sockets. This approach honors the subject while exploring mortality, presence, and psychological intensity.

Cloaked in deep purples, the figure holds a cigar in his mouth, the smoke curling from the tip in a deliberate, swirling trail that amplifies the sense of quiet power. The image evokes mystery, charisma, and undeniable presence—you are drawn in, unable to look away, yet uncertain of his intentions.

This piece examines the tension between identity, mortality, and charisma, rendered in dark, smooth brushwork and a striking monochromatic palette. It is designed to captivate, unsettle, and pull the viewer into the quiet power of a figure whose intensity lingers long after you look away.

• Wire attached for secure and easy hanging