Jesus Reyes was born in Guadalajara in Mexico in 1882.
He attended drawing classes at the "Liceo de Varones", in the building now occupied by the National Museum.
As a boy he worked in a shop that sold artists' materials : paintbrushes, paints, prints, etc.
He moved to Mexico City in 1927.

He was the friend of many painters, among them Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Marc Chagall.

He was interested in popular art all his life, and held many exhibitions, both in Mexico and abroad.

He died in 1978.