Bañistas

Zárraga painted a great number of paisajes animados throughout his artistic career. In the present lot, several precisely detailed women are depicted in the artist's typical style of that period. The figures are his primary focus and he realizes this strength through his deliberate accentuation on the women--and not the background. The womens' curves echoe their bodies; they are, in fact, flowing masses in a variety of grand poses and colors that may even remind the specatator of Cézanne's more famed Bañistas paintings.

It is also interesting to note that Zárraga had married a dance teacher in 1919, and thus the present lot is also a tribute of sorts to his newly found understanding of the world of dance.

We are grateful to Paulette Patout for her assistance in writing the essay for the present lot.