Spanish school, 1920s

Spanish school, 1920s
"Basque athlete".
Charcoal on paper
Apocryphal signature "A. Arteta" in the lower right corner
Measurements: 50 x 35,5 cm (drawing); 71 x 62 cm (with frame)

Academic drawing made in the 1920s, fully inserted in the Art Deco aesthetic. The male figure, represented with his back turned and foreshortened with his arms raised, embodies a dynamic force and a formal stylization characteristic of the figurative art of the interwar period. The use of charcoal, with a firm stroke and sharp hallmarks, models the musculature with sobriety and precision, highlighting volumes through plays of light and shadow that recall the influence of modern classicism.
The graphic treatment and the structural sense of the human body connect with the ideals of harmony, order and modernity typical of Art Deco. The composition concentrates the energy in the torsion of the body and the ascending line of the arms, generating an image as elegant as it is powerful.
The drawing presents in the lower right corner an apocryphal signature "A. Arteta", without documentary support to support its attribution to the Basque artist.

Aurelio Arteta (1879-1940) was born in Bilbao and studied at the School of Arts and Crafts of his native city, continuing his training at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and later in Paris and Italy. He was one of the founders of the Association of Basque Artists and the first director of the Museum of Modern Art of Bilbao. His work, focused on social symbolism and the renewal of muralism, received numerous awards, including the National Painting Prize in 1930 and a medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1932. He is represented in the main museums of the Basque Country and in prominent public and private collections.