Zacarias Gonzalez

ZACARÍAS GONZÁLEZ (Salamanca, 1923 - Alicante, 2003)
Untitled.
Oil on canvas adhered to cardboard.
Signed in the upper right corner.
Measurements: 46 x 37 cm; 75 x 66 cm (frame).
The figures of the circus occupy a significant place in the work of Zacarías González, not so much as an anecdotal theme, but as a symbolic vehicle of his artistic universe. Acrobats, clowns and tightrope walkers appear stripped of spectacularity to become silent, almost introspective presences that embody a certain human fragility.
A painter of precocious talent, Zacarías González was a professor of drawing at the San Eloy School of Fine Arts and Nobles, although he later moved to the San Fernando School of Fine Arts in Madrid. He developed a first figurative stage from the forties, where he showed the influence of Picasso, Cézanne and Gutiérrez Solana. Later he evolved towards a predominantly abstract language, between the fifties and sixties, a period in which González achieved international recognition and was awarded the Biosca Prize. At this stage he delves into material experimentation, using metals, wrought iron, wood and large amounts of paint. Finally he will return to figuration already with a fully mature language, and will focus on classic themes such as still life, the figure (especially harlequins and other types that he repeats) and landscape, generally urban. In 2012 an important retrospective exhibition was dedicated to him at the Palacio de San Boal in Salamanca, organized by Caja Duero.