Miguel Pradilla

MIGUEL PRADILLA GONZÁLEZ (Rome, 1884 – Madrid, 1965).
“El Berbés de Vigo.”
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 54.5 x 79.5 cm; 71 x 96 cm (frame).

Around 1890, the Berbés waterfront in Vigo was a place completely tied to the sea and fishing, where boats would pull up directly onto the beach to unload their catch, which was either sold under the arcades of the houses or salted; right there, sailors and net-makers mended nets and prepared their gear, while small boats were beached on the sand, and the entire area functioned as a very active yet disorderly and unsanitary economic hub, with a strong smell of fish and virtually no modern infrastructure, since the sea practically reached the homes and the port as we know it today did not yet exist.

The son of Francisco Pradilla Ortiz, Miguel followed in his father’s footsteps, developing a style of painting intimately connected to Spanish culture—primarily genre painting—characterized by a rich, textured style that takes on renewed expressiveness in his landscapes. Nature was at the absolute center of his artistic process, and, unlike his father, Miguel Pradilla painted outdoors, without finishing his works in the studio. This is a trait clearly influenced by Impressionism, leading him to seek above all to capture the atmosphere, the colors, and the life of a specific place. Manuel Pradilla’s works are currently on display at the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, as well as in various private collections.