Lot Essay
Mujer con Batea de Frutas was painted in Paris during the time of late Cubism. It corresponds to the so-called Synthetic Cubism stage, where the Cubists construct in an artificial or synthetic fashion a composition consisting of arbitrarily chosen aspects that only served for a more organized, and less dynamic composition than in Analytical Cubism. Zárraga, along with Diego Rivera, constitute the only two Mexicans who share this avant-garde in Paris.
Although Zárraga abandoned Cubism around 1921, he would never forget the enriching lessons learned from the Cubist discipline. His color became purified and enriched, and his composition more severe and precise, overflowing subsequently in the magnificent designs of his grandiose murals.
Zárraga's Cubist production was considerable, painting long hours each day to alleviate the effects of the devastating war. The great promoters of the movement, like Leonce Rosenberg and Berthe Weill, bought and sold many of his canvases. The renowned Berheim-Jeaune gallery in Paris exhibited his art several times, and this represented for him a great artistic and economic success. Well-known writers and critics like Louis Vauxcelles, Felix Fenéon, Louis Hervieu and Jacques Reboul, among others, extolled him and his work.
Mujer con Batea de Frutas represents the portrait of Jannette Ivanoff, a teacher of rhythmic gymnastics and noted soccer player, whom Zárraga married in 1919. She appears time and time again in his Cubist compositions, and she is also the model of the beautiful and sensual female nudes seen in later paintings.
Elisa García-Barragán has written with reference to Mujer con Batea de Frutas: "a canvas in which the viewer observes a less austere Cézannesque approach and under a more figurative concern, quite in the style of Albert Gleizes. Color supports geometry. Blues, greens, reds, yellows and whites usher in this woman to whom the whiteness of a probable tablecloth and the yellow of her dress yield luminosity. The brushstroke changes, mainly thick and short strokes produce a curious framework." (1)
(1) Elisa García-Barragán, Los Itinerarios de Angel Zárraga, América Arte Editores, Mexico City, 1997
Maria Luisa Novelo Quintana
Mexico City, Oct. 1997
Translated by Dr. Wayne H. Finke
This painting is sold with a certificate of authenticity from Francisco Zárraga Arguelles and María Luisa Novelo Quintana, Dated 'Feb 1981'
Although Zárraga abandoned Cubism around 1921, he would never forget the enriching lessons learned from the Cubist discipline. His color became purified and enriched, and his composition more severe and precise, overflowing subsequently in the magnificent designs of his grandiose murals.
Zárraga's Cubist production was considerable, painting long hours each day to alleviate the effects of the devastating war. The great promoters of the movement, like Leonce Rosenberg and Berthe Weill, bought and sold many of his canvases. The renowned Berheim-Jeaune gallery in Paris exhibited his art several times, and this represented for him a great artistic and economic success. Well-known writers and critics like Louis Vauxcelles, Felix Fenéon, Louis Hervieu and Jacques Reboul, among others, extolled him and his work.
Mujer con Batea de Frutas represents the portrait of Jannette Ivanoff, a teacher of rhythmic gymnastics and noted soccer player, whom Zárraga married in 1919. She appears time and time again in his Cubist compositions, and she is also the model of the beautiful and sensual female nudes seen in later paintings.
Elisa García-Barragán has written with reference to Mujer con Batea de Frutas: "a canvas in which the viewer observes a less austere Cézannesque approach and under a more figurative concern, quite in the style of Albert Gleizes. Color supports geometry. Blues, greens, reds, yellows and whites usher in this woman to whom the whiteness of a probable tablecloth and the yellow of her dress yield luminosity. The brushstroke changes, mainly thick and short strokes produce a curious framework." (1)
(1) Elisa García-Barragán, Los Itinerarios de Angel Zárraga, América Arte Editores, Mexico City, 1997
Maria Luisa Novelo Quintana
Mexico City, Oct. 1997
Translated by Dr. Wayne H. Finke
This painting is sold with a certificate of authenticity from Francisco Zárraga Arguelles and María Luisa Novelo Quintana, Dated 'Feb 1981'