Antonio Saura

ANTONIO SAURA (Huesca, 1930 - Cuenca, 1998).
"Carmen", 1983.
Ink on paper.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
It has certificate of the Saura Foundation - Casa Zavala, Cuenca.
Measurements: 31 x 21 cm; 50 x 40 cm (frame).

The work that Saura presents us shows an artistic jewel linked to one of the most significant events in the history of ballet: "Carmen".
The work we are talking about is, in fact, one of several drawings that Saura created to illustrate the publicity poster for the ballet "Carmen". This spectacular production took place at the Paris Theater on May 19, 1983, under the direction of the famous choreographer Antonio Gades and the renowned filmmaker and brother of the painter, Carlos Saura. The character of Carmen was masterfully played by the brilliant dancer Cristina Hoyos.
What is fascinating about this drawing is the profound inspiration that finds its origin in the original work of Prosper Mérimée and the wonderful music of Georges Bizet. Antonio Saura's talent and creativity are captured in every stroke, reflecting the passion, drama and intensity that characterize the tragic story of Carmen.
In addition, we must highlight the fundamental role that Antonio Saura played in the scenography of the work. His intervention in the scenic structures and spaces contributed to enrich the staging, creating a visually captivating atmosphere that perfectly complemented the dance and music.
It is also interesting to mention that, following this successful collaboration, Antonio Saura brought to life a portfolio of silkscreen prints recreating the different acts of the ballet "Carmen". This decision demonstrates his deep connection with the production and his desire to continue expressing his artistic vision through different forms and media.

Self-taught, Antonio Saura began painting and writing in Madrid in 1947. Three years later he held his first individual exhibition at the Libros bookstore in Zaragoza, showing a series of experimental works ("Constelaciones" and "Rayogramas"), created during the long illness that kept him immobilized since 1943 for a period of five years. In 1952 he held his first exhibition in Madrid, at the Buchholz bookstore, where he exhibited his youthful, dreamlike and surrealist works. That same year he visited Paris for the first time, settling in the city. There his work was influenced by artists such as Miró and Man Ray, and he dedicated himself to making paintings on canvas and paper of an organic nature, using various techniques. The break with the surrealist group allows him to open up to other ways of creation, where he begins to show the evolution that his work is undergoing, which moves towards an instantaneous painting of gestural strokes and reduced palette of selective character, where informalism plays the misleading between suggestive expressions of line and color. He made his debut in Paris in 1957, at the Stadler Gallery, the same year he founded the El Paso group. The following year he participates in the Venice Biennale in the company of Chillida and Tàpies, and in 1960 he receives the Guggenheim Prize in New York. In 1963 his first retrospectives were held at the Stedelijk Museum in Eindhoven, the Rotterdamsche Kunstring and the museums of Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro (works on paper). Saura's retrospective exhibitions are repeated throughout his career, both in Spain and in Europe and America. In 1966 he exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, and participated in the Biennial of Engraving "Bianco e Nero" in Lugano, winning the Grand Prize. The following year he settled in Paris, although he worked and spent every summer in Cuenca, a fundamental pillar of his production since his early years. In 1968 he abandoned oil painting to devote himself exclusively to works on paper. In 1979 he was awarded a prize at the First Biennial of engraving in Heidelberg, in 1981 he was named Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, and the following year he was awarded the Gold Medal of Fine Arts. He has exhibited all over the world and is represented in the most important national and international contemporary art museums, including the Neue Nationalgalierie in Berlin, the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan in New York, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Tate Gallery in London.