Arturo Souto

ARTURO SOUTO FEIJOO (Pontevedra, 1902 - Mexico City, 1964).
"Toledo".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Signed and titled on the back.
It presents slight restorations.
Measurements: 55 x 66 cm; 74 x 84 x 5 cm (frame).

Vibrant panoramic view of the city of Toledo, whose silhouette rises on the hill while the Tajo river meanders at its feet, articulating the urban landscape. The composition is structured by means of an elevated perspective that allows to contemplate the walled city, the staggered buildings and the bridge that crosses the river. A wide sky unfolds over the whole, treated with a loose brushstroke that adds atmospheric depth to the scene.

The work evidences the characteristic features of Arturo Souto's pictorial language in his mature stage: an expressive and material brushstroke, a palette dominated by ochre, earth and warm tones, and a synthetic interpretation of the landscape in which color and texture acquire prominence over descriptive detail. The composition conveys an evocative vision of the Castilian landscape, resolved with great gestural freedom.

Arturo Souto was a Spanish painter trained at the School of Arts and Crafts in Seville and at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid, where he coincided with artists such as Salvador Dalí. Linked to the intellectual circles of the avant-garde and signer of the Manifesto of the Iberians (1925), he furthered his training in Paris and Rome. During the Civil War he collaborated with the Republican side and, after the conflict, he went into exile in France, Cuba and Mexico. He returned to Spain in 1962. His work is preserved in institutions such as the Museum of Pontevedra, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid), Museo Provincial de Lugo, Museo de Bellas Artes de La Coruña and the Afundación collection (formerly Novacaixagalicia), among other public and private collections.