Basque Mysticism (Zeanuri) - Bilbao Fine Arts Museum

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Basque Mysticism (Zeanuri)

Amárica, Fernando de

Vitoria-Gasteiz, 01/06/1866-Vitoria-Gasteiz, 06/11/1956

Oil on canvas

90 x 100 cm

Amárica (bottom right hand corner)

1930

Second quarter of the 20th century

82/99

Donated by the artist in 1953

Although tempted by the portrait, his condition as landscape artist determined much of his production and led him to travel far and wide, with a view to painting en plein air. He discovered all kinds of places, although from the 1920s on his outings were always to spots close to Vitoria. What he found on his travels provided him with the themes for most of his output. This is certainly true of Romantic Landscape (La Puebla de Arganzón), a work closely associated with the Impressionist tenets and which highlights the play between the waters of the river and the approaching dusk, endowing the scene with a dream-like quality. Here, and more particularly in Basque Mysticism (Zeanuri), drawing remains very much to the fore, presumably a result of the artist's academic training. In the latter, the painter's interest lies in the direct observation of the parish church of Andra Mari and the surrounding neighbourhood; taking care to mark the colour contrasts, he deploys the vertical light gradually, suffusing the scene with a kind of spirituality. [Javier Novo]

Selected bibliography

  • Pantorba, Bernardino de. El pintor Fernando de Amárica : ensayo biográfico y crítico. Vitoria-Gasteiz, Fundación Amárica, 1966. p. 57, n° cat. 269. (Con el título Misticismo vasco (Ceanuri))
  • Pintores y escultores vascos de ayer, hoy y mañana : Fernando de Amárica II. Bilbao, La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca, vol. VII, 1973. p. 101, il. (Reproducido en cubierta)
  • Bengoechea, Javier de. Catálogo de arte moderno y contemporáneo del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya, 1980. p. 14. (Con el título Misticismo vasco).
  • Corredor Matheos, José; Apellániz, Paloma. El pintor Fernando de Amárica. Vitoria-Gasteiz, Caja Provincial de Ahorros de Álava, 1986. p. 183. (Con el título Misticismo vasco (Ceanuri))
  • "F. de Amárica", Guía de Exposiciones, n° 77. 1987.
  • Nosotros los vascos : arte IV : del neoclasicismo a las tendencias modernas del arte. Donostia-San Sebastián, Lur, 1989. p. 188, il. (Con el título Misticismo vasco)
  • Tesoros del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : pintura, 1400-1939 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, El Viso, 1989. pp. 168-169, n° cat. 67.
  • Guridi : díez melodías vascas, Amaya, Homenaje a Walt Disney [CD]. Madrid, EMI Odeon, 1992. reproducido en la portada. (Con el título Misticismo vasco).
  • Apellániz, Paloma ; Moreno Ruiz de Eguino, Iñaki. Amárica en las colecciones = Amárica bildumetan. Vitoria-Gasteiz, Diputación Foral de Álava, 1996. pp. 102, 144, n° cat. 30.
  • Paisajea Bilboko Arte Eder Museoko Bilduman : Regoyosetik Canejara = El paisaje en la Colección del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : de Regoyos a Caneja [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Fundación Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa Fundazioa, 2006. p. 42-43.
  • Guía Artistas Vascos. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2008. pp. 51-52.
  • Gida Euskal Artistak. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Eder Museoa, 2008. pp. 51-52.
  • Guide Basque Artists. Bilbao, Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, 2012. pp. 50-51, n° cat. 23b.