Antonio Saura

Galería Theo, Madrid
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 1985

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is slightly warmer in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Extremely fine craquelure is visible upon close inspection in places throughout the composition. There is a tiny spot of impasto lifting to the lower centre of the right. There is a pinhead-sized puncture mark to the canvas on the right extreme edge, 7cm, down from the top right corner. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet 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

Executed on a monumental scale in bold strokes of dramatic chiaroscuro, Untitled is charged with a dramatic tension. Constructed by almost convulsive movements, the contours of a female torso seem to overflow the confines of the canvas. Saura's technique – brushes and spatula loaded with paint, and then applied in ferocious layers of impasto – results in a tactile surface which pulsates with physical energy. 

In 1956, the same year as the execution of Untitled, student demonstrations against the Franco regime in Madrid were violently suppressed. This 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 the present work.  José Ayllon describes Saura's paintings as 'highly dramatic works in which the white... creates wide gulfs of space-light, full of anguish in their irreversibility. The black signs interweave in an attempt to link themselves with that vague image which  struggles to define itself but which, in the end acquires the value of a revelation' (José Ayllon, Antonio Saura, Barcelona 1969, p. 51).