Francisco Rodríguez San Clement

FRANCISCO RODRÍGUEZ SAN CLEMENT (Cadiz, 1861 - France, 1956).
"Flemish party".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 98 x 130 cm; 113 x 146 cm (frame).
The vibrant brushstroke, reflects the movement of the scene itself blurring the limits and favored the expressiveness of the work. The light does not show a direct focus too powerful, providing a soft and harmonious atmosphere to the whole work, in which the characters show the festive atmosphere of the moment that has been portrayed.

Francisco Rodríguez San Clement was an outstanding painter born in Cádiz, whose artistic training was consolidated at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, in Madrid.
His work is characterized by a deep connection with flamenco art, a cultural manifestation that significantly influenced his pictorial production and the construction of his aesthetic identity. The emotional and expressive intensity of flamenco became an inexhaustible source of inspiration for Rodríguez San Clement, who managed to translate the dynamism, passion and strength of this Andalusian tradition into his canvases. This artistic legacy was continued by his son, Francisco Rodríguez Sánchez, also a painter, who found in his father's legacy a fundamental reference.

Rodríguez San Clement's work is marked by a close relationship with his cultural roots and, in particular, with the gypsy tradition, which played a crucial role in the development of his visual imaginary. From an early age he showed a penchant for travel, which led him to tour Europe with gypsy caravans. During these journeys, he made numerous notes and sketches in which he captured the symbolic and visual richness of the everyday scenes he witnessed. These early records were essential for the configuration of a pictorial style where direct observation, musical sensitivity and bodily movement converge, elements that he would later channel through painting.

His works not only celebrate the human figure and its immediate surroundings, but also transmit narratives charged with emotion, spirituality and cultural roots. Rodríguez San Clement succeeded in transmitting to the viewer a profoundly vitalistic vision, exalting the beauty of the ephemeral and the intensity of the lived experience.

Upon returning to Spain, the artist was confronted with an artistic panorama that was not very receptive to his proposal. The poor reception in the national salons led him, towards the middle of the 1920s, to move to Paris in search of new opportunities. In the French capital, he found a more favorable environment for the development of his work, surrounded by other artists who shared his sensitivity and his desire for creative freedom.

In Paris he consolidated his style, characterized by an expressive use of color and a vigorous stroke, qualities that endow his portraits with a latent energy. Many of his compositions evoke the vertiginous rhythm of flamenco or the dramatic tension of bullfighting, and in all of them one can perceive a celebration of life at its maximum intensity.

Rodríguez San Clement achieved recognition in the main art salons of Paris and other European cities, establishing himself as an important visual chronicler of gypsy and Andalusian culture. His works were included in prestigious art catalogs, such as those published by Frost & Reed Limited, London, and today they are part of important public and private collections internationally.