Federico Aguilar Alcuaz

FEDERICO AGUILAR ALCUAZ (Philippines, 1932-2011).
"Seated woman".1970.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the left margin.
Measurements: 81 x 66 cm; 99 x 84 cm (frame).

This portrait is a significant piece in the production of Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, one of the most international and recognized artists of the Philippines. The work is characterized by a loose brushstroke, energetic and loaded with matter, typical of Alcuaz's neo-figurative style.

It highlights the use of a warm palette in the figure's clothing, which contrasts with the cold and neutral tones of the background, creating a visual dynamism that makes the figure "vibrate" on the canvas. The model appears seated with her hands clasped in her lap, a classical pose that the artist modernizes through the expressionistic treatment of forms and light.

The result is a profoundly human image, where the figure seems to emerge from the very act of painting, revealing the pictorial sensitivity and formal freedom that characterized Alcuaz's work in the seventies.

Federico Aguilar Alcual studied painting at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts, where he was a student of key figures such as Fernando Amorsolo and Guillermo Tolentino. In 1955 he received a scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs that allowed him to move to Madrid and enter the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts. The following year he settled in Barcelona, where he joined the group La Puñalada, in contact with artists such as Tàpies, Cuixart and Tharrats. Since then he has developed a solid career in Spain and internationally, being awarded numerous prizes and distinctions both in Europe and in the Philippines, including the Medal of the Villa de Paris and, in 2007, the Presidential Medal of Merit awarded by the Philippine government.