NICOLÃS MARTINEZ ORTIZ DE ZARATE (Bilbao, 1907 - Madrid, 1990).
Untitled, 1957.
Oil on canvas glued to panel.
Signed and dated in the lower right area.
Measurements: 73 x 92 cm; 95 x 115 cm (frame).
The schematic and very defined drawing is in some points disproportionate for the sake of expressiveness. Chromatically, the pictorial surface is dominated by reds, pinks and yellows which contrast with the greens, the latter in a low, greyish tone. The colour spreads out without emerging on the surface of the canvas, remaining definitively exposed at the first intention, thus ensuring that the pictorial matter remains fresh and fluid. The work represents the painting of Nicolás Martínez and defines Hispanic expressionism in itself, with a lot of fauvism and clear cubist connotations.
A painter, draughtsman, watercolourist and illustrator, Nicolás Martínez Ortiz de Zárate began his training at the School of Arts and Crafts in his native Bilbao. He then went to Paris to further his studies, thanks to grants from the City Council and the Caja de Ahorros Municipal de Bilbao. He remained in the French capital between 1924 and 1928, where he studied at the Académie de La Grande Chaumière. After completing his studies, he developed a varied production as a painter, poster artist, draughtsman and engraver, producing outstanding projects such as the murals of the Garellano barracks (1929), the Luciano restaurant (1930), the Casa del Huérfano del Miliciano (1936) and, after the Civil War, those of the Hotel Carlton and the Altos Hornos de Vizcaya (Biscay Blast Furnaces). In 1937 he also did the drawings for the Bank of Spain banknotes issued by the Basque Government. In the 1930s he also made himself known through the Basque Art Exhibitions (1932, 1935) and other official competitions, such as the one organised in Barcelona in 1933 by the Association of Basque Artists. He also illustrated newspapers and magazines. However, the period from the end of the war until 1970 was a hiatus in his career. Martínez Ortiz de Zárate withdrew from the artistic circuits and concentrated on genre painting set in the Basque Country, characterised by geometrical forms and a cheerful, spontaneous colouring. In the seventies he resumed his exhibition activity, obtaining a success that would accompany him for the rest of his life. He is currently represented in the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Madrid, the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, the Mapfre Foundation Collection and other public and private collections.