Masterpieces
Gran oval (Large Oval)
Tàpies, Antoni
Barcelona, 13/12/1923-Barcelona, 06/02/2012
Mixed media on canvas
194,5 x 170 cm
Tàpies (bottom left hand corner); Tàpies (on the reverse)
1955
Mid-20th century
85/318
Acquired in 1985
Large Oval is one of Tàpies first masterpieces, produced shortly after he had begun to experiment with the abstraction of Art Informel and matter painting. The simplicity of this work corresponds to an early phase of the informalist output of the artist. It shows a restrained use of matter, shapes, signs, and scratches and a moderate palette, limited to variants of ochre and grey that evoke an old wall.
The titles of Tàpies's works always refer to the specific formal, iconographic, objectual or chromatic motifs they contain, stressing their materiality, their textual and physical nature. However, the evocative lyrical capacity and the contemplative solemnity that emanate from his oeuvre make it one of the most profound existential reflections in 20th-century art.
In 1953 Tàpies initially Surrealist oeuvre began to evolve in two directions: towards the drama of Existentialism, on the one hand, and towards the meditative attitude of Zen Buddhism, on the other. The Catalan painter is probably the most complex and creative example of matter painting, one of the main branches of Art Informel previously developed by Fautrier and Dubuffet. The introduction of gestural marks, signs and waste materials, and the creation of three-dimensional works have enhanced the painter's evolution, by means of which he has made significant contributions to both Arte Povera and Installation Art. (Javier Viar)
Selected bibliography
- Tàpies : comunicació sobre el mur [Cat. exp.]. Barcelona, Fundació Antoni Tàpies, 1992. pp. 100-101, 229, n° cat. 21.
- Antoni Tàpies [Cat. exp.]. Japan, Art Life, 1996. p. 66, n° cat. 2.
- De Picasso a Bacon : arte contemporáneo en las colecciones del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Segovia, Museo de Arte Contemporánea Esteban Vicente, 1999. pp. 122-123.
- Castañer López, Xesqui. "El coleccionismo público en el País Vasco, 1980-1996 : los museos de bellas artes", Goya : revista de arte, n° 68. 1999. p. 51.
- Tàpies [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, 2000. pp. 148-149, n° cat. 28.
- Tàpies [Cat. exp.]. München ; Barcelona ; Paris, Stiftung Haus der Kunst Gmbh ; Fundació Antoni Tàpies ; ADAGP, 2000. pp. 120-121, n° cat. 28. (Con el título Grosses Oval)
- Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. pp. 190-191.
- Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. pp. 190-191.
- Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. pp. 190-191.
- Bajo la bomba : el jazz de la guerra de imágenes transatlántica, 1946-1956 [Cat. exp.]. Barcelona, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, 2007. pp. 631, 757.
- Reguera, Galder. "Centenario del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao", Arketypo : revista de arte, arquitectura y diseño vasco, n° 13. 2009. pp. 146-147.
- Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. pp. 190-191, n° cat. 135a.
- Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. pp. 190-191, n° cat. 135a.
- Arte japonés y japonismo [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. pp. 101-102, il.
- Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. pp. 190-191.
- Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. pp. 190-191.
- Maestros : Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao . Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 112-113, il.
- Maîtres : Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bilbao. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 112-113, il.
- Maisuak : Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 112-113,il.
- Masters : Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 112-113, il.
- 110 Años 110 Obras [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 270-271, sin n° cat.
- 110 Ans 110 Oeuvres [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 270-271, sin n° cat.
- 110 Urte 110 Artelan [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 270-271, sin n° cat.
- 110 Years 110 Works [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 270-271, sin n° cat.
- Bilboko Museoaren alfabetoa = El alfabeto del Museo de Bilbao = The alphabet of the Bilbao Museum = L'alphabet du Musée de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 288, 293, n° cat. 166.
- Puigdollers, Bernat ... [et al.]. Art i cultura de postguerra : Barcelona 1939-1962. Barcelona, Àmbit, 2019. p. 169, il.
- Vrchovina, krabatina, mrchovina : Solitéri Vysociny [Cat. exp.]. Humpolec, República Checa, 8smicka, 2019. p. 96, il.
- Viar, Javier. Hijos de la angustia. Bilbao, Muelle de Uribitarte, 2019. pp. 21, 97, il.
- Mitrani, Àlex (dir.). Pintura catalana : segones avantguardes. Barcelona, Enciclopedia Catalana, 2020. pp. 108-109, il.