Rafael Zabaleta Quesada, Jaen 1907-1960

Eugenio D'Ors (a gift from the artist)
Galería Jorge Juan, Madrid
Purchased by the present owner from the above in 1987

Original canvas. There are a few very minor areas of possible retouching, notably to some craquelure on the nearest sail. Apart from scattered craquelure and some surface dirt, notably a vertical line to the right side, this work is in good condition, with strong impasto and bright, fresh colours. Held in a decorative, gold-painted moulded plaster and wood frame with a white silk accent.
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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."

The present work is the first of two known versions that Zabaleta painted of the port of Valencia. The other later version, painted in 1939, is in the Museo Zabaleta. Painted following Zabaleta's internment during the Civil War, both works conform to the artist's stylistic phase of the 1930s, characterized by the influence of the European avant-garde following the artist's trip to Paris and his acquaintance with the work of de Chirico, Carrá, Braque, Picasso, Gauguin, and Campigli.

Originally from Quesada, on the southeastern tip of Spain, Zabaleta travelled to Madrid in 1927 to study at the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes of San Fernando. In 1929 he was named a delegate of the Tesoro Artístico Nacional. Zabaleta was denounced at the end of the Spanish Civil War and held at the Higuera de Calatrava concentration camp and the prison at Jaén.

Using a vibrant blend of Fauvist colour, Cubist formality and Expressionist freedom, Zabaleta crafted images of the Quesan countryside, Andalusian fields and local festivals.