Urbano Lugrís

URBANO LUGRÍS GONZÁLEZ (La Coruña, 1908–1973).
“Bird.”
Charcoal on paper.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 28 x 28 cm; 53 x 53 cm (frame).

Urbano Lugris began his artistic training under the influence of Nacho Viéitez, a man whose goal was to encourage the practice of painting among younger generations. He abandoned his studies to become a business administrator in La Coruña and moved to Madrid in 1930, where he joined the Misiones Pedagógicas, traveling to various Spanish cities to design costumes and sets for the La Barraca theater. During this time, he met Federico García Lorca and Rafael Alberti. During the Civil War, he served as a volunteer in the Republican army, heading to the front in Asturias. After the war ended in 1954, he founded the magazine *Atlántida* in La Coruña with his friends Mariano Tudela and José Mª de Labra, in which he played an active role, writing articles and poetry, as well as creating numerous illustrations and designing the cover header. In 1965, he moved to Vigo, where he died on December 23, 1973. In 1997, the largest exhibition dedicated to Urbano Lugrís, curated by Rosario Sarmiento and Antón Patiño, took place at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid and at the Auditorio de Galicia in Santiago de Compostela. To mark this exhibition, a major exhibition catalog was published, along with a facsimile edition of the magazine *Atlántida*. In 2007, Antón Patiño’s book on Urbano Lugrís, *Viaje al corazón del océano* (*Journey to the Heart of the Ocean*), was published. Lugrís was a largely self-taught painter; his work reflects a predilection for maritime themes, depicted with a dreamlike and idealized atmosphere. His paintings are almost always executed on panel in small and medium formats. He was influenced by his godfather, the writer Francisco Tettamancy y Gastón, as well as by concepts of Italian metaphysical painting—particularly those of Carrà and Chirico—and by French surrealism, specifically the works of Tanguy and Magritte. Some critics have sought to link him to Dalí, based on his use of blue as the primary color in his paintings, but this element is not derived from the Catalan artist, but rather from Platinir.