Genaro Lahuerta

GENARO LAHUERTA (Valencia, 1905–1985).
“Paris,” 1960.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 50 x 73 cm, 72 x 95 cm (frame).
He began his studies at the School of Arts and Crafts in Valencia and in 1919 enrolled at the San Carlos School of Fine Arts, where he met Pedro de Valencia and formed a close friendship with him. His early years at the academy inspired him to explore the avant-garde movements that were already taking hold in the rest of Europe at the time, seeking to break away from “Sorollism.” In 1928, he participated in the First Valencian Exhibition of Young Art, and a year later, he exhibited his work at the Sala Parés in Barcelona. He thus became a pioneer of Valencia’s pictorial renewal during the 1920s, reaching its peak in the following decade with the emergence of the “Valencian Artistic Avant-Garde of the 1930s.” He began his career with figures reminiscent of the German avant-garde and Italian “Quattrocento” painting, focusing on the human figure. However, his artistic language would change as a result of his travels through Italy, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and he returned with a colorist style characteristic of the “Fauves.” This style was complemented by the colors he encountered in the Sahara, featuring shades of violet and yellow. He was a great explorer of nature, capturing a new Valencian landscape for the first time.