Page 179 - Libro Max Cetto

In Cetto’s Proximity Bettina Cetto

In 1951, Cetto would proceed to build
the upper floor to house his studio, incorpo-
rating a spiral staircase of stunning beauty.
While it is difficult to pick one space
in the house as being the most inviting, the
studio –with its corresponding terrace– has
a unique beauty. Here, the windows stretch
almost from floor to ceiling, not only for
the incredible view of the mountain range
and to let in light, as the studio is comple-
tely closed in by walls to the north and east
except for a very small window that allows
for “a view of the volcanoes” and for cross-
ventilation during times of heat, but also to
make the second floor lighter.
The ceiling of the studio is covered with
tezontle and, using green, pink, black and
white marble, Cetto created several mosaics.
I believe that the four figures arranged in
the center of the mural represent several
things. First, each figure is oriented in a car-
dinal direction and they represent four buil-
ders, for each one holds work tools. Each
is made of stones of a different color than
the other three, so I imagine they repre-
sent different races. The image of these four
intertwined men is also a masonic symbol
that Max took from the Middle Ages, spe-
cifically from the notebook of an itinerant
architect named Villard de Honnecourt
that has been preserved by the Bibliothè-
que Nationale de France: 33 pages of par-
chment with 250 drawings, dated between
1220 and 1240.
In addition, the mural shows the
family’s zodiac signs. Catarina and my sister
Veronica are Pisces, Max and my sister Ana
Maria are Aquarius and I am a Leo. At the
southeastern end, above the fireplace, the
sun appears, and to the northeast, the moon.
Venus shows up near the moon and Jupiter
close to the sun.
A few years ago, to my surprise, a young
architect asked me if the mosaic in Cetto’s
studio was by Juan O’Gorman. I had ne-
ver heard this question before, but it led me
to the following reflection: If we have seen
that several of my father’s works have set
Fig. 26 Cetto House, staircase leading to the architect’s studio. sail under the name of another architect or
© Archivo Max Cetto, UAM Azcapotzalco, Mexico. engineer, will I allow him to be stripped of
the authorship of his mosaic as well?

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