Xavier Villaurrutia, essayist.

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive study of Xavier Villaurrutia as an essayist, a lesser-known facet of an author primarily recognized for his poetry and drama. Through a biographical and intellectual overview, the author situates Villaurrutia within the Ulises, Orientación, and Contemporáneos groups, emphasizing his central role in the aesthetic and critical renewal of twentieth-century Mexican literature. The study focuses on Villaurrutia’s essayistic production, particularly his literary, artistic, and cultural criticism published in journals and newspapers of the period. The article highlights the impressionistic nature of his critical method, characterized by a balance between analytical intelligence and artistic sensitivity rather than strict theoretical systematization. It shows how Villaurrutia addressed topics such as young poetry in Mexico, the work of his contemporaries, painting—especially that of José Clemente Orozco—cinema, and theater, employing a metaphorical, elegant, and suggestive language. The analysis also underscores his ability to move between solemn and anecdotal tones and his engagement with modern European artistic currents. The article concludes that Villaurrutia was a key essayist who made a decisive contribution to shaping aesthetic taste and consolidating modern literary criticism in Mexico.