Rich in diverse influences, Fernando Zóbel's works are often heraldedfor their inventiveness. He borrowed from multiple sources and wasunafraid to experiment with new mediums. The sharp straight linesin this present work, for instance, was created using a hypodermic syringe that Zobel adapted as a technique as it allowed him to drawthin and controllable lines with a great degree of sensitivity.
An intellectual himself, Zóbel was also open to a myriad of styles,including the calm soft washes of Rothko and the gestural modes of Chinese calligraphy. These artistic borrowings result in an ethereal tension between mellowed backgrounds and frantic rhythms offleeting lines. As pointed out by art historian Antonio Magaz-Sangro, Zóbel's works are reminiscent of “weightless scaffoldings viewed against light.” Indeed, the domination of planes with varying value,coupled with their out-of-focus contours, create a sense of luminosity,as if one is struggling to see in the presence of bright lights.
“I set up in front of a picture I like, and I prefer to commune with thatwork by painting. It's a way of seeing and making paintings.”
Entitled Fourth Conversation with Rembrandt van Rijn, the presentlot reveals itself as Zóbel's homage to the Dutch painter, Rembrandt.It is no surprise that the Filipino painter possessed at least sixteen books on Rembrandt's etchings in his personal library, which hecompiled since his student days in Harvard. It was the atmosphericquality of these etchings that inspired Zóbel. A maestro of chiaroscuro,Rembrandt led the eye through vigorous interplay of light and shadow.As seen in the monumental sketch, The Three Crosses, his grave darkstrokes served to frame and accentuate the radiance of his central Rich in diverse influences, Fernando Zóbel's works are often heraldedfor their inventiveness. He borrowed from multiple sources and wasunafraid to experiment with new mediums. The sharp straight linesin this present work, for instance, was created using a hypodermicsyringe that Zobel adapted as a technique as it allowed him to drawthin and controllable lines with a great degree of sensitivity.An intellectual himself, Zóbel was also open to a myriad of styles,including the calm soft washes of Rothko and the gestural modes ofChinese calligraphy. These artistic borrowings result in an etherealtension between mellowed backgrounds and frantic rhythms offleeting lines. As pointed out by art historian Antonio Magaz-Sangro,Zóbel's works are reminiscent of “weightless scaffoldings viewedagainst light.” Indeed, the domination of planes with varying value,coupled with their out-of-focus contours, create a sense of luminosity,as if one is struggling to see in the presence of bright lights.“I set up in front of a picture I like, and I prefer to commune with thatwork by painting. It's a way of seeing and making paintings.”Entitled Fourth Conversation with Rembrandt van Rijn, the presentlot reveals itself as Zóbel's homage to the Dutch painter, Rembrandt.It is no surprise that the Filipino painter possessed at least sixteenbooks on Rembrandt's etchings in his personal library, which hecompiled since his student days in Harvard. It was the atmosphericquality of these etchings that inspired Zóbel. A maestro of chiaroscuro,Rembrandt led the eye through vigorous interplay of light and shadow.As seen in the monumental sketch, The Three Crosses, his grave darkstrokes served to frame and accentuate the radiance of his central