Page 32 - Studio International - August 1965

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Antonio Saura (b. 1930 in Huesca)
The Spaniards are the masters of the grand gesture. It is
to be found in El Greco (a Spaniard by choice), in
Zurbaran, in Goya, and among others in Antonio Saura.
It is a grand gesture that is neither theatrical, rhetorical
or ridiculous, but natural and spontaneous, just part of
being a Spaniard. It is the result of the constant need
for expressing feelings and tensions.
Antonio Saura has attained international recognition
and fame because his work communicates his feelings
and his intentions; because it has reached a universal
level at which these feelings and intentions become
important to all.
Saura's irony is frequently bitter and cruel, his many
'Crucifixions' scream their revolt, instead of showing
quiet resignation. He is an artist who fully accepts the
responsibility of living NOW, and who is conscious of
the part he has to play in the contemporary scheme of
things. He paints, but he also reads and studies, and
this constant quest gives a special dimension to his
work. Saura communicates this feeling of urgent par­
ticipation, no matter whether he shows in New York,
Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Madrid-or Tirnbuctoo.
Saura expresses himself through many media:
painting, drawing, graphic work of various kinds. But
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the message his work contains, and his Spanish
gestures, a1·e always tempered by technical knowledge,
by discipline, by intelligent thought-in other words, his
temperament is controlled by his intelligence. For this
and other reasons, Antonio Saura has become one of
the true masters of Spanish art. ■

Antonio Saura
lmagmary portrait of Goya 1963 Carnegie lns/!tute, Pitrsburgh

Manola Momp6
1 Woman opening a door
2 Peasants in the field
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