MANOLO VALDÉS | Retrato en Azul y Blanco

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner circa 1999

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is slightly cooler, and the white is slightly warmer in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There are some tiny artist's pinholes in places throughout. A superficial layer of dust has adhered to some of the protruding elements. Close inspection reveals some drying cracks to the areas of thicker impasto and some tiny losses to some of the impasto peaks. All other surface irregularities, fraying and accretions are in keeping with the artist's working process and choice of medium. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultraviolet light.
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Powerful and striking, Retrato en Azul y Blanco, through its colours and textural composition, is an exceptional example from Manolo Valdés’ prolific and celebrated artistic output. Held in the same private collection since its acquisition from the artist, the work is joyfully executed with a repeated emphasis on craftsmanship. In this large-scale painting, a statuesque, and partially disguised, beautiful dark-haired woman gazes past the viewer with a cool air of noble detachment. Working in oil on layers of burlap, Valdés builds his portraits from swathes of impasto paint to create richly textured and vibrant compositions. The lavish coatings of paint over coarse material lend the appearance of patchwork, and indeed Valdés draws from an array of sources in his expressive works. Created in 1999, Retrato en Azul y Blanco takes inspiration from some of the great artists of the past – from Cranach to Rubens, Velázquez to Bonnard. The defined, boldly outlined and mask-like features of the female protagonist are strongly evocative of the style of Valdés’ most important source of inspiration; Henri Matisse. Delicately transforming the artist’s masterful Fauvist portraits to suit his unique vision, Valdés has intensified several subtle aspects of Matisse’s style and grandly monumentalised its scale. The inspiration that Matisse found in Japanese prints is brought to the fore via thickly applied black lines that delineate the subject’s facial features, recalling the delicacy and boldness of an ink brush.

Valdés has explained his connection to these prominent art paragons, “When I touch on historical painters, I make comments based on the specificity of my language and not on that of literature or poetry. I am just a narrator who comments on the history of painting in various ways, using new materials: it is like a game that consists of changing the code and the key to the artwork… Many of my colours, materials and textures are the product of relived experiences of other masters. My painting involves much refection” (Manolo Valdés cited in: Exh. Cat., Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Manolo Valdés [1981-2006], 2006, pp. 20-21).

The vibrancy emanating from Retrato en Azul y Blanco is characteristic of Valdés’ highly personal creative oeuvre. His portraiture actively addresses issues ranging from representation and appropriation to heritage, style, and tradition. In the present work, the artist’s original and technical skill are immediately apparent; the diverse media, large-scale composition and direct concern with art historical subject matter. All confirming Valdés’ status as one of the great masters of contemporary Spanish art.