Benjamín Palencia

BENJAMÍN PALENCIA (Barrax, Albacete, 1894 – Madrid, 1980).
“Torero,” 1972.
Pen-and-ink drawing on paper.
Accompanied by a certificate issued by the Benjamín Palencia Archive.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 28 x 21 cm.
Benjamín Palencia was a key figure in 20th-century Spanish painting and, alongside Alberto Sánchez, a founder of the Vallecas School. Primarily self-taught at the Prado Museum, he came into contact with the European avant-garde during his stay in Paris in 1926, where he met artists such as Picasso, Gargallo, and Miró and became acquainted with Cubism and Surrealism.Beginning in the 1930s, his work evolved toward an increasingly personal interpretation of the Castilian landscape, which would become the cornerstone of his career. After the Civil War, he gradually moved away from Cubist and Surrealist influences to develop a style of painting characterized by intense color and strong expressiveness, reminiscent of Fauvism.
His reputation solidified in the 1940s, with major awards, national and international exhibitions, and his participation in the Venice Biennale. In 1973, he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, and in 1978, he received the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts. His work is now held in major Spanish collections, including the Reina Sofía Museum, and occupies a prominent place in the renewal of the contemporary Spanish art scene.