“Children playing with fire” was a painting done by Rufino Tamayo in 1947. It depicts two children running away from a fire, that is in the middle ground of the painting, after getting burnt by it. The boy and girl are made out of shapes, and colors that are too dark; making it almost impossible to see their faces or much of the painting, aside from the fire. Though the children’s form is unrealistic, it still shows an expression of pain. He manages this by using black, blue, red, yellow, and orange, a strange color choice. The dark colors and few highlights make up the composition of the children, while bright yellows, oranges, and reds create the fire. The painting also captures movement, for it shows the children running towards the viewer, with a face that pain can only form. Tamayo seems to be influenced by cubism since geometrical shapes make up the whole painting. Overall the children seem to be at fault for their pain, just like Tamayo believed Mexicans were creators of their doom during the revolution; which is when this painting was created. The children know not to play with fire, for they know the consequences that come with it, yet they still did it; which is something Tamayo indicates in this painting, his discontent with the Mexican people and their so-called revolution.