Federico de Echevarría

FEDERICO DE ECHEVARRÍA (Bilbao, 1911- Madrid, 2004).
"At the café", 1978.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner. Signed, dated and titled on the back.
Measurements: 50 x 61 cm; 52 x 63 cm (frame).
Federico de Echevarría was a contemporary painter whose career is characterized by a constant stylistic evolution and a deep fidelity to oil painting as a means of expression. Linked to a family artistic tradition, he was the nephew of the painter Juan de Echevarría, and his first steps were marked by the study of masters such as Goya and El Greco, as well as by the direct influence of his closest environment and figures such as Gustavo de Maeztu. Initially trained within academic parameters, his painting moved towards an impressionist language under the influence of French painting, especially after his stay in Paris, where he consolidated a solid technical and aesthetic base. However, it was from the 1960s onwards when his work underwent a decisive turn towards abstraction, also incorporating elements from cubism, informalism and materialism, in dialogue with artists such as Braque, Kandinsky and Picasso.
His career reached a remarkable international projection, participating in important events such as the Venice Biennial, the Biennial of São Paulo or exhibitions in cities like Brussels, Bonn, London or Moscow. At the same time, he developed an intense individual exhibition activity in galleries of reference in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and New York, consolidating his position within the Spanish art scene of the twentieth century.