Manuel Colmeiro

MANUEL COLMEIRO GUIMARÁS (Pontevedra, 1901 - Salvaterra do Minho, Pontevedra, 1999).
"Man and bird", Paris, 1954.
Charcoal on paper.
Signed, dated and located in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 40 x 30 cm; 59 x 48,5 cm (frame).

Made during his Parisian period, this drawing synthesizes Colmeiro's personal assimilation of cubism and international avant-garde trends without renouncing his lyrical sensibility.
The male figure, constructed by means of enveloping lines and curved planes, is articulated in a dynamic play of diagonal tensions where the body and the bird establish a symbolic dialogue. The agile and sure charcoal stroke reveals a structural study of form, while the volumetric simplification and spatial fragmentation refer directly to his language of the 1950s.
The Parisian period - fundamental in his international consolidation - meant for Colmeiro a formal purification and a greater compositional synthesis. Works such as this one are evidence of that balance between constructive modernity and intimate poetics, a distinctive feature of the so-called Spanish School of Paris.

Manuel Colmeiro is a key figure in the Galician plastic renovation of the 20th century and an outstanding member of the group "Os Novos" or "Os Renovadores", together with artists such as Luis Seoane, Laxeiro, Maside and Arturo Souto. Linked to the Spanish School of Paris, he developed his own language that integrated cubism, expressionism and a deep lyrical sensibility.
After stays in Buenos Aires and Madrid, he settled in Paris in 1949, where he consolidated his international projection. His work has been exhibited in London, Paris and Madrid, and is part of collections such as the Museum of Pontevedra, Afundación, María José Jove Foundation and ABANCA Collection, among others.