Miguel Pradilla

MIGUEL PRADILLA GONZÁLEZ (Rome, 1884 - Madrid, 1965).
"Old Ribera del Berbés, Vigo", 1890.
Oil on canvas.
Signed, dated and located in the lower right corner and on the back.
Measurements: 54 x 80 cm; 74 x 99 cm (frame).

Around 1890, the Berbés riverside in Vigo was a space completely linked to the sea and the fishing activity, where the boats arrived directly to the beach to unload the fish, which was sold under the arcades of the houses or was destined to the salting; There the sailors and the redeiras repaired nets and prepared the gear, while small boats were beached on the sand and the whole environment functioned as a very active economic center but also untidy and unhealthy, with a strong smell of fish and hardly any modern infrastructure, since the sea practically reached the houses and the port as it is known today did not yet exist.

Son of Francisco Pradilla Ortiz, Miguel followed in his father's footsteps, developing a painting intimately related to the Spanish, preferably costumbrista, marked by a juicy invoice that takes on a renewed expressiveness in the landscape. His system of work had nature as the absolute center and, unlike his father, Miguel Pradilla painted outdoors, without finishing them in the workshop. This is a clearly impressionist influenced trait, which leads him to seek above all to capture the atmosphere, the colors and the life of a specific place. Manuel Pradilla is currently represented in the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, as well as in various private collections.