Miguel Pradilla

MIGUEL PRADILLA GONZÁLEZ (Rome, 1884 - Madrid, 1965).
"The Berbés of Vigo, sale of fish in the Ribera".
Oil on panel.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 31 x 73 cm; 59 x 98 cm (frame).

Miguel Pradilla visited Vigo, finding inspiration in the city for several of his works. In this panel he depicts the old riverside of O Berbés, Vigo's historic seaside neighborhood. This place, intrinsically linked to fishing, was the economic engine of the city during the Modern Age. With great skill, Pradilla immortalizes the "peixeiras" and sailors absorbed in their daily tasks.

Son of Francisco Pradilla Ortiz, Miguel followed in his father's footsteps, developing a painting intimately related to the Spanish, preferably costumbrista, marked by a juicy invoice that takes on a renewed expressiveness in the landscape. His system of work had nature as the absolute center and, unlike his father, Miguel Pradilla painted outdoors, without finishing them in the workshop. This is a clearly impressionistic influence, which led him to seek above all to capture the atmosphere, the colors and the life of a specific place. In a monograph dedicated to Francisco Pradilla (Zaragoza, 1987) the authors, Enrique García Rama and Ana García Loranca, state that "By undertaking themes similar to those of his father, even copying some of them and concluding several of the master's works, after his death his pictorial production has led to confusion on many occasions as to the paternity of the same. An article by Enrique Pardo Canalis commemorating the birth of Francisco Pradilla includes Miguel's comments on a small incident between the two, commenting on the latter's painting. It seems that when Francisco Pradilla was presented with a work by his son Miguel, of which he was very satisfied, the master took a thick brush and smeared it all over. Miguel, disconsolate, only dared to stammer his disagreement with the fact. His father replied: 'You fool, it was very good! What happened is that you were getting too conceited, and this way you will never be a good painter'". Manuel Pradilla is currently represented in the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, as well as in several private collections.