Francisco Cornejo

Francisco Cornejo (1892 in La Paz, Baja California Sur – 1963) was a Mexican painter and sculptor, specialized in Maya and Aztec themes. He was influenced by Pre-Columbian art.

Francisco Cornejo studied at Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City alongside the famous artist Diego Rivera.^[1] Cornejo studied in Mexico City until 1911, and then he moved to Los Angeles, where he taught San Franciscan teachers in ancient American art. He exhibited in Mexico City, at Stanford University, at the California School of Fine Arts, and in Los Angeles.^[2] Around 1920, Cornejo worked on Ted Shawn's "Toltec Ballet: Xotchil" contributing to the elaborate sets, costumes, and overall storyline through his extensive knowledge of the Toltec legend of Xotchil.^[3] One of his most famous works are the interiors^[4] and façade^[5] decoration in the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles, a theater built in 1927 under architect Stiles O. Clements, designed in the art deco mode known as Mayan Revival architecture. Francisco Cornejo’s knowledge of Mayan, Toltec, and Aztec culture drove the building of the Mayan Theater as it was one of the first of its kind.^[6]

In the 1930s, he returned to his home country, where he lived and worked until his death.^[7]

• Façade of the Mayan theater, Los Angeles