Ángel Zárraga

ÁNGEL ZÁRRAGA ARGÜELLES (Durango, Mexico, 1886 - Cuernavaca, 1946)
"Woman with shawl", 1906.
Mixed media on paper adhered to board.
Signed, dated and located in the lower left corner.
Provenance: Former Ramón de la Rica Collection, Neguri / Heirs of Ramón de la Rica.
Measurements: 46 x 53 cm; 68 x 75 cm (frame)

This early work by Ángel Zárraga, dated 1906, belongs to the decisive period in which the artist, recently arrived in Europe, moved between Paris, Brussels and different Spanish cities (Toledo, Segovia, Madrid), exploring a personal language that combines the academic tradition with a modern sensibility. During these years, Zárraga began to consolidate an intimate and sober style, with a strong psychological charge, as can be seen in this figure wrapped in a shawl, whose silent and monumental presence anticipates his interest in symbolic realism and the architectural construction of forms.

1906 also marks his participation in a group exhibition at the Prado Museum, and the granting of a pension by Justo Sierra to continue his European training, confirming the early recognition of his talent. The purification of color, the sobriety of space and the expressive density of the face place this work within his scarcest and most sought-after corpus: the young Zárraga who observes, assimilates and redefines the Hispanic pictorial tradition.

Throughout his career, Zárraga explored cubism, portraiture, religious painting, muralism and a singular personal symbolism; he was a founding member of the Ateneo de la Juventud, a friend of Diego Rivera and one of the Mexican artists with the greatest presence in the Parisian scene of the first half of the 20th century. His work is now part of public and private collections in Mexico, Europe and the United States.

Provenance: Former Ramón de la Rica Collection, Neguri / Heirs of Ramón de la Rica.
Ramón de la Rica was a prominent Basque collector and co-founder of the Sala de Arte Studio in Bilbao (1948-1952), considered the first modern art gallery in the city. This pioneering space promoted the diffusion of contemporary art in the Basque Country and hosted exhibitions of artists such as Ibarrola, Oteiza and Picasso, becoming a point of reference for artistic modernity in Spain. The presence of this work in its collection underscores its relevance, as well as the early critical sensibility that surrounded Zárraga's reception in Europe.