GUSTAVO BACARISAS (Gibraltar, 1873 - Seville, 1971).
"Lady with a Fan in the Albaicín", 1922.
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Attached certificate of authenticity issued by Doña Elsa Jernas, the artist's widow.
Work reproduced in the catalogue; Gustavo Bacarisas (1873-1971), Anthological Exhibition. Seville Palacio Mudejar, 1972.
Provenance: Elsa Jernas.
Preserves early 20th century frame.
Measurements: 100 x 80 cm; 118 x 98 cm (frame).
In this work the artist represents a seated girl, holding a fan and looking at the spectator with a broad smile. The young woman is set in a landscape depicting a nocturnal view of Aracena (Huelva). This portrait, which has a costumbrista heritage, is dominated by the presence of blue, which was a characteristic tone in Bacarisas's painting, to such an extent that it became one of his personal hallmarks, thus approaching a more symbolist and Noucentist aesthetic trend. This work reveals all the pictorial aspects that defined the painting of Bacarisas, who was one of the most important painters of the early twentieth century: the aforementioned blue tone, the nocturnal landscape for which he felt a predilection and the figure of women with Flemish features were indisputable hallmarks of his lyrical and joyful painting.
Gustavo Bacarisas began his studies at the Seville School of Fine Arts and completed his training on a Gibraltar scholarship in Rome (from 1892), Paris, Venice, London and Argentina (between 1906 and 1913). As a Briton, he held his first solo exhibition in London in 1906 and was relegated to the foreign section at the Madrid National Exhibition of 1915. Settled in Seville in 1914, his fame grew rapidly and he was made an adopted son of the city in 1919. He took part in the Seville Fine Arts Exhibitions of 1916 and 1920, and of particular importance was his solo exhibition of 1921, held at the Museum of Modern Art in Madrid. In 1933 he settled in the Spanish capital, moving during the war to Gibraltar and then to Madeira. He finally returned to Seville in 1945, where he remained until his death. Gustavo Bacarisas's style brought a modern concept to Andalusian painting, in a decorative key but capturing the spirit of things, through beautiful sequences of the life and landscape of Seville and Granada. As a decorator, his production included the set designs and costumes for the opera "Carmen", with a theme similar to that of his painting. He also worked successfully on ceramic paraments for the regionalist architects Juan Talavera and Aníbal González. The balanced combination of tradition and modernity of his style brought him notable successes, as well as the Gold Medal of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Santa Isabel de Hungría, of which he was a member since 1964. He was also a member of the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid. Gustavo Bacarisas is represented in the Museo de Bellas Artes in Seville, the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Museo de Arte Español Contemporáneo in Madrid, among others.