Menchu Gal

MENCHU GAL (Irún, Guipúzcoa, 1919 – San Sebastián, 2008).
“Ria de Irús,” from the “Northern Etchings” series.
Etching and aquatint on paper. Print no. 64/150.
Signed, inscribed in pencil.
Measurements: 36 x 47 cm; 46 x 56.5 cm (paper).
Created around 1985, “Ría de Irún” is part of the notable “Aguafuertes del Norte” series, one of the most representative collections of Menchu Gal’s graphic work. In this series, the artist translated her unique interpretation of the Basque landscape into printmaking, transforming familiar scenes into compositions of great poetic and expressive intensity, faithful to the principles that guided her entire career as a painter.
The print reflects Gal’s close connection to her homeland, a recurring theme in her work. The estuary, evoked through a highly stylized visual language, moves away from any descriptive intent to become a space where light, color, and emotion take center stage. The composition reveals an expressionist approach, defined by energetic line work and a dynamic construction of forms, which conveys the vitality of the landscape without sacrificing a delicate sense of balance.
Menchu Gal was a leading figure in the renewal of postwar Spanish landscape painting and was associated with the so-called Madrid School. Initially trained by Gaspar Montes Iturrioz, she furthered her studies in Paris with Amédée Ozenfant and at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts. In 1959, she became the first woman to win the National Prize for Painting. Her work is part of the collections of the Reina Sofía National Art Museum and the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum.