José Bardasano

JOSÉ BARDASANO BAOS (Madrid, 1910-1979).
"Port of San Sebastian.
Oil on táblex.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 41 x 33 cm; 57 x 49 cm (frame).

Bardasano completes his formation in the School of Arts and Trades, where he obtains all the extraordinary prizes of the career. In 1930 he wins, in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, a travel grant to travel around Andalusia. He made his individual debut in Madrid four years later, in Los Amigos del Arte. That same year, 1934, he obtains a second medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts. The following year he obtains the Conde de Cartagena scholarship, thanks to which he travels through France, Belgium, Holland and England, and exhibits in cities such as London and Paris. In 1937 he was awarded the first prize for posters in the competition organized by the Official Chamber of Books, and after the Civil War he went into exile in Mexico, remaining very active throughout Latin America. In 1960 he returned to Spain and obtained, until his death in 1979, numerous national and international awards in recognition of his long and fruitful career, in addition to various exhibitions organized in his honor. His first medals at the Salon d'Automne in Madrid (1961) and at the Salon des Arts, Sciences et Lettres in France in 1964 are particularly noteworthy. Painter and poster artist, José Bardasano was also director of the magazine "No veas", delegate of the International Congress of Painters and Sculptors of 1957, president of the Circle of Fine Arts of Mexico (1945) and official cross of Merit of the French Government. As an illustrator, he collaborated with various publications in Madrid, and his work as a poster artist during the Civil War was especially relevant. His series of posters for Renfe won him the International Tourist Poster Prize in Germany and went around the world, shaping the Spanish visual memory both at home and abroad. José Bardasano is currently represented in the Prado Museum (his work is on deposit at the Fine Arts Museum of Castellón), as well as in several important private collections.