Antonio Saura

Galerie Stadler, Paris
Galerie Lauter, Mannheim
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 1982

Colours: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate. Condition: The work is in very good condition. There are a few very small rub marks: to the centre and to the right of the upper extreme edge, and to the lower left corner. Faint handling marks are visible in a few places scattered along all four edges. There are a number of extremely fine and unobtrusive stable hairline tension cracks at intervals to the extreme overturn edges. Very faint stretcher marks are visible at intervals running the length of the work to the inside of the left and right edges. There is a very small spot of paint loss to the stroke of impasto on the left side of the figure's face, and a few short cracks with raised edges to thicker strokes of impasto, predominantly to the black impasto in the upper section and central section of the work. No restoration apparent under ultraviolet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This work is registered in the Antonio Saura Archives, Geneva, and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity

'Sometimes when I see a beautiful woman, my head hurts, I am overcome, I almost lose consciousness! It is always like this: the beauty of women affects me like a thunderbolt, almost...This is undoubtedly why the subjects of most of my paintings are women.''

Antonio Saura in Exhibition Catalogue, New York, Pierre Matisse Gallery, Recent Paintings, 1964

In Siri Saura paints the torso and head of a woman in a ferocious manner, constructing her form from violently gestural brushstrokes in shades of intense black, red, white and ochre. Her malleable body is manipulated to fit with Saura's vision, the composition dominated by her prominent breasts, her face contorted into a distorted grimace.  Though created by convulsive movements, her body bearing the indelible marks of the artist-creator, Siri's conception is not so much an act of brutality as a loving ritual.  Leaving the background of the picture flat and untouched, Saura creates a platform for the most elevated and revered of subjects. Passionately rendered and richly expressive, Siri is charged with a frantic energy, the traditional portrait genre broken down and reconfigured into an arresting icon of femininity.

The evocative depiction of the female figure is a dominant theme in Saura's oeuvre. The violent suppression of student demonstrations in Madrid in 1956 marked a turning point for Saura's pictorial language and led him to adopt the powerfully restricted palette and animated treatment of form evident in Siri.  One of a series of imaginary portraits executed in the early 1960s and characterised by their painterly expression and abstracted physiognomies, Siri illuminates Saura's dynamic approach to his subject. He said of his art, 'I like the most conflicting things: I like painters whose message is very dramatic: Rembrandt, Goya, Van Gogh, Picasso. I remember a marvellous Miró, with a single figure in it, in pastel [.]' (Exhibition Catalogue, New York, Pierre Matisse Gallery, Recent Paintings, 1964).  In Siri we see the freedom and spontaneity of Miró's art, reinterpreted by Saura in a majestic homage to the female form.