Antonio Saura

ANTONIO SAURA (Huesca, 1930 – Cuenca, 1998).
“Moi,” 1976.
Black-and-white silkscreen print on Schoeller paper.
Signed and numbered in pencil 24/60.
Edition of 60 copies and 12 H.C.
Printed by Alexandre Tornabell, Amer, Girona.
Published by: Gustavo Gili, Barcelona.
Bibliography: Olivier Weber-Caflisch, Antonio Saura. L'œuvre imprimé. Catalogue raisonné, Patrick Cramer, Geneva, 2000, pp. 268–285 (complete series, nos. 236–253).
Measurements: 102 x 73.5 cm.

Created in 1976, this silkscreen print is part of *Moi*, a series of eighteen prints in which Antonio Saura approaches the self-portrait from a radically expressionist perspective. The series is based on photographs of the artist himself taken by his brother, the filmmaker Carlos Saura, which he transforms through distortions and superimpositions until they become images of great psychological intensity. In this composition, two fragmented faces emerge from large black masses, while the eyes—wide open—concentrate all the expressive tension. The strong contrast between black and white and the grainy texture of the surfaces accentuate the visual intensity of the image. The series constitutes a unique reflection on identity, closely related to the concept of the “anti-portrait” developed by the artist.

Antonio Saura was a key figure in Spanish Informalism and one of the leading innovators of postwar painting. After an early period associated with Surrealism, he founded the El Paso group in 1957, which played a decisive role in the modernization of the Spanish artistic language. His body of work, centered on the human figure and characterized by gestural quality and expressive power, encompasses painting, drawing, and an extensive body of graphic work. He participated in the 1958 Venice Biennale and the 1959 Documenta in Kassel, and received the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1960. His work is included in collections such as the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and MoMA in New York.