Antonio Saura

ANTONIO SAURA (Huesca, 1930 - Cuenca, 1998).
"Crucifixion". 1959-60.
Gouache and ink on paper.
Signed and dated.
Attached certificate of the Fondation Archives Antonio Saura.
Measurements: 61 x 89 cm.

Work on paper by Antonio Saura belonging to his emblematic series of Crucifixions, one of the most intense and recognizable cycles of his production. Begun at the end of the fifties, this theme constitutes one of the great axes of his plastic language and one of his most powerful contributions to the renovation of contemporary Spanish iconography.

Far from a traditional devotional representation, Saura transforms the image of the Crucified into a field of gestural tension. The figure emerges between black spots, violent whites and areas of naked paper, articulating a composition of strong dramatic charge. The work is linked to the Spanish tradition of the Crucified -from Velázquez to Goya-, but taken to the territory of informalism, pictorial action and the expressive decomposition of the figure.

The 1959-60 dating places the piece at a particularly significant moment, coinciding with some of his greatest works on this theme. The MoMA holds a 1960 Crucifixion done in collage and ink on black paper, while the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has a Crucifixion dated between 1959 and 1963, references that underline the relevance of this motif in his early mature work.

Its large format for a work on paper, its compositional power and the presence of the certificate of the Fondation Archives Antonio Saura reinforce its interest for specialized collectors.

Antonio Saura, self-taught, began his career in Madrid and soon developed an experimental language linked to surrealism. In 1957 he founded the El Paso group, participated in the 1958 Venice Biennial together with Chillida and Tàpies, and in 1960 received the Guggenheim Prize in New York. His career was recognized with numerous international exhibitions, the Grand Prize at the Lugano Biennial of Engraving, the appointment as Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France and the Gold Medal of Fine Arts. His work is represented in institutions such as the Reina Sofia Museum, the Centre Pompidou, the Tate, the Guggenheim in New York and Bilbao, the Metropolitan Museum and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin.