Manuel Rendón (1894-1980)

oil on canvas

Private Collection, Madrid
Galería Todo Arte, Guayaquil

The canvas has been relined. The painting has some creasing of the surface along the top quadrant, including across the nose of the figure on the left side. There is also some paint loss along the overall edges of the canvas that suggests the painting may have been re-stretched or reframed. Under fluorescent lighting some overall, specks of paint loss are visible, but there are no signs of in-painting. Painting is in good and stable condition.
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This magnificent painting by Manuel Rendón Seminario of three figures—father, mother and daughter—was executed in 1926 during the artist's Parisian years. This period marked the early stages of Rendón's relationship with the well-known art dealer and visionary Léonce Rosenberg (1877-1947) whose Galerie de l'Effort Moderne represented some of the key protagonists of the modern art movement, such as Giorgio de Chirico, Francis Picabia, Juan Gris, Albert Gleizes and Jean Valmier.

 

Familia tenderly evokes the profound sense of kinship and familial ties shared by the trio. The daughter, on the left, exudes calmness as she rests her right hand over her chest suggested by the undulating lines of her blouse, while her head slightly tilted to the right adds to her gentle demeanor. Next to her, to the right, one finds a more powerful figure—the mother dressed in what appears to be a long sleeve chemise. She lovingly supports her chin against her daughter's forehead who affectionately envelops her in an embrace. Behind them, on the upper left, appears the male figure—the father—who gazes outwards towards the viewer in a gesture that asserts his role as family head and protector.

 

The abstract and undulating forms that characterize much of the pictorial surface, especially around the contours and in the background, reflect the formal elements that would prevail in Rendón's paintings throughout much of his career.