The largest collection of Rafael Zabaleta’s works at auction
Modernity and tradition dialogue in our auction on the 29th, through the 12 works under bidding by the Andalusian painter Rafael Zabaleta.
The group of works masterfully reflects the dichotomy between the connection with the roots of his Andalusian culture and the creative concerns that the international avant-garde generated in him.
Despite the impulse that guided his career to renew the plastic language, Zabaleta always maintained a close connection with rural life and the customs of his environment. From his earliest works, the Andalusian painter began to explore the human figure, nature, and landscape, representing them in a personal and stylized way. His work is, to a great extent, a reflection of that deep Spain, which for him was not only a cultural reference but also a constant source of inspiration.
But Zabaleta’s painting went far beyond the limits of genre painting, managing to merge classical figuration with modern concerns, becoming a bridge between the ancient and the contemporary.
Zabaleta did not limit himself to being a simple chronicler of his surroundings. Like other artists of his time, he sought to transform the everyday into something more universal. This translates into a treatment of the human figure and landscape that, while clearly figurative, moves away from the realistic and into the symbolic. His ability to simplify forms and abstract the human figure into geometric contours is a testimony to his openness to modern influences, especially those of Pablo Picasso’s Cubism. Despite the disparity in their styles, both artists shared the same impulse to renew artistic language, facing the challenges of an era that required new ways of seeing and understanding the world.
However, far from falling into simple imitation, Zabaleta carried out an exercise of adaptation. Without abandoning the link with his roots, the artist showed an immense capacity to integrate Picasso’s innovations into his work, as is especially visible in works such as “Alacena”, or “Noche de gatos”. Despite the evident simplification of each of the elements that make up his work, Zabaleta never reached the radical fragmentation of Picasso, but opted for a reduction to simpler and more symbolic forms that maintain the closeness to humanity that always defined him.
Thus, the Picassian imprint that underlies Zabaleta, far from detracting from his personality, is combined with the expressionist character that runs through his work, giving birth to a very personal style that makes him one of the most unique Spanish artists of the twentieth century.
