Maruja Moutas

MARUJA MOUTAS (Oviedo, 1916-Madrid, 2015).
"Interior".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner. Signed and titled on the back.
Measurements: 80 x 100 cm; 94 x 112 cm (frame).

Maruja Moutas was initially trained in Oviedo and, after the war, in Madrid, where she studied at the Academy of San Fernando and in workshops of artists and craftsmen who expanded her technical mastery. His integration in Madrid's cultural circles -especially the Café Gijón and his closeness to the Madrid School- was decisive for the consolidation of his pictorial language. From his first exhibitions in the fifties, his work showed a very personal figurative style: a firm line, refined compositions and an interest in everyday objects, landscapes and urban environments. Over time, his painting evolved towards a softened and lyrical expressionism, characterized by the use of complementary colors, unreal atmospheres and a tendency to simplify forms to the point of bordering on abstraction without ever completely renouncing the figurative reference. During the following decades, Moutas deepened this synthesis between emotion, color and structure, achieving a painting of great poetic sensitivity. His evolution was accompanied by a growing institutional recognition, with presence in collections such as the Reina Sofia Museum or the Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias, which underline the relevance of his contribution to the Spanish art of the twentieth century.