Friday, October 21, 2016

Aurelio Arteta

Aurelio Arteta (1879–1940) was a Spanish painter born in Bilbao. He studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid. 
In 1905 and 1906 he travelled to Paris and in Italy, thanks to a grant from the Diputación Foral de Vizcaya. There he was influenced both by Impressionist painting and by the work of Italian Renaissance masters. 
In 1911, along with other artists, he founded the Asociación de Artistas Vascos. In 1930 he was awarded the National Prize for Painting.
After the Spanish Civil War he went into exile, first in France and subsequently in Mexico, where he died in a tram accident.
His painting, somewhat idealized, though melancholic, concentrated on Basque themes, showing both rural scenes and the way that society was changed by industrialization, with townscapes along the river Nervión. His greatest work is the fresco in the vestibule of the Banco de Bilbao, in Madrid.

2 comments:

  1. Thomas Hart Benton 1889-1975

    Aurelio Arteta's work reminds me very much of the art of Missouri painter Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975). (He did study in France.) Although the following YouTube from the Smithsonian is not the best example of what I mean - it does bring fond memories of seeing this mural as a little boy at Harzfeld's, a long-gone department store in Kansas City.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW-HRtvIv1E

    "The Lord is My Shepherd" (1926) is another of my favorites...

    http://whitney.org/WatchAndListen?play_id=556

    Thanks, Daan for these daily posts! I know it can't be easy?!

    Best,
    -kk-

    ReplyDelete
  2. This style reminds me of the USA Depression Era PWA style art. Very bold and gutsy.

    ReplyDelete