Francisco Soria

FRANCISCO SORIA AEDO (Granada, 1898 - Madrid, 1965).
"El reñidero", 1965.
Oil on canvas.
Provenance: Liceo de Málaga.
Signed in the lower right corner. Dated and titled on the back.
Measurements: 180 x 150 cm; 198 x 168 cm (frame).
Customs scenes were common in the paintings of Francisco Soria Aedo, who immortalised the Spanish spirit in his works through his women dressed in mantillas and regional costumes. In this particular case, the scene opens up like a stage to the viewer, who observes a spontaneous, everyday moment in which a cockfight is about to take place. The vibrant technique based on a wide and fast brushstroke increases the sensation of movement and spontaneity of the image.
Francisco Soria Aedo trained in his native Granada under the painter José María López Mezquita. Throughout his career he won important prizes, such as the second medal at the National Exhibition of 1924 for "Tipos árabes" and the first at the International Exhibition in Barcelona in 1929 for his oil painting entitled "Nochebuena en la aldea" ("Christmas Eve in the Village"). He also held important solo exhibitions, such as the one held at the Velázquez gallery in Seville in 1951. He combined painting with teaching, and was a professor of colouring at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts in Madrid. In his production he paid special attention to the representation of popular Andalusian, Castilian and Moroccan types, either isolated or in anecdotal compositions, captured through a language characterised by compositional mastery, chromatic richness and elegance and fully achieved light effects. His was a style in the genre realism of the first half of the 20th century, highly acclaimed by the critics and public of his time, which led him to be officially recognised by the press as one of the most solid representatives of Spanish painting in the middle of the last century. Soria Aedo was, above all, a consummate technician; he possessed a great mastery of his craft, extraordinary manual dexterity and a mastery of the psychological portrayal of his models. In his works we see a series of skilfully managed effects of light and colour that form harmonious ensembles of undeniable decorative value. Soria Aedo is currently represented in the Fine Arts Museums of Granada and Seville, as well as in various private collections.