Jesús Helguera was a painter and commercial illustrator - often compared to Norman Rockwell in the U.S. Helguera initiated his career by creating artwork for calendars and painting idealized and romanticized landscapes of Mexico and images inspired by Aztec mythology. Many of his creations were featured in the NMMA 1999 traveling exhibition, La Patria Portátil: 100 Years of Mexican Chromo Art Calendars.