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By 1933, the year when Le Chasseur (The Hunter) was painted, Óscar Domínguez's works were fully Surrealistic, although he did not join André Breton's circle until 1934. The elements that define Surrealism are already present in this work: the exploration of the subconscious and dreams, the boundless fantasy, the free and ambiguous association of elements which in theory have nothing to do with each other, the exaltation of desire-especially sexual desire-and the consequent subversive provocation.

In fact, the hunter in this painting has no attributes that define him as a hunter; he looks more like an urban stroller-a Parisian flâneur-with his jacket and hat. In an act of hesitancy, the opposite of what we would expect from a brave, decisive hunter, he is covering his face and turning his back towards the spectator. Domínguez is also a contradictory figure: corpulent, with an imposing head--he suffered from elephantiasis--a drinker and womaniser prone to excess, he was also timid and fragile, tending towards an emotional instability which would lead him to commit suicide on New Year's Eve in 1957.

The disturbing figure in The Hunter is moving towards the bird poised calmly in its hand-shaped cage made of reeds or metal. Even though the open hand is a symbol of authority and power, it does not seem to disturb the bird, the symbol of the soul and spirituality, as if the hand that imprisoned it may also set it free. The keyhole of the lock is not far away. The caged bird is also a representation of disappointment: the disappointment of this strange hunter?

Next to the hunter a female figure with her back turned towards us floats in the air, revealing her buttocks like an erotic provocation, enhancing the sexual tension and desire. The hunter seems to be furtively looking at her. But might this woman be a nun wearing her habit and the halo of sanctity? This increases the twisted allusion and provocation of which the Surrealists were so fond. A strange viscous, runny matter is flowing from the hunter's body, the outcome of his decomposition. In the sky, this matter becomes more transparent, like clouds or whimsical gases-harbingers of the painter's cosmic landscapes from 1937-1939-which seem to emanate from the volcanic landscape of the Canary Islands, Domínguez's homeland, a strong presence throughout his entire oeuvre.

Domínguez was a very active figure among the Surrealists until the outbreak of World War II. He introduced the technique of decalcomania and was one of the most brilliant creators of Surrealistic objects. His cosmic period (1937-1939) led the way from Surrealism to abstraction.

In the 1940s, he evolved towards a more figurative art with an expressionistic and later a lyrical and linear feel. After the war, he worked frenetically painting, writing, illustrating and showing his works in Paris, London, Zurich, Brussels, Milan and other cities. At the end of his life, he revisited decalcomania and a more experimental painting style.

An artist with a fertile imagination and suggestive lyricism, Domínguez invites us to question, explore and decipher this unique, ambiguous painting, without a doubt one of the most poetic and beautiful ones in his oeuvre. (Guillermo de Osma)

Selected bibliography

• "[Exposición de arte surrealista .... en Santa Cruz de Tenerife]", Boletín internacional del surrealismo = Bulletín international du surréalisme, n° 2. 1935. p. 1.
• Campoy, Antonio Manuel. Diccionario crítico del arte español contemporáneo. Madrid, Ibérico Europea de Ediciones, 1973. p. 112.
• Castro Flórez, Fernando. Oscar Domínguez y el surrealismo. Madrid, Cátedra, 1978. p. 117, n° cat. 11. (como de paradero desconocido)
• Waldberg, Patrick. Surrealism. New York ; Toronto, Oxford University Press, 1978. p. 123, il. 96.
• Picon, Gaëtan. Diario del Surrealismo, 1919-1939. Barcelona, Destino, 1981. p. 166, il.
• El Surrealismo y su evolución [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Galería Theo, 1982. s.p., il.
• Passeron, René. Enciclopedia del Surrealismo. Barcelona, Polígrafa, 1982. p. 154, il.
• 50 ans d'art espagnol, 1880-1936 [Cat. exp.]. Bordeaux, Galerie des Beaux-Arts, 1984. p. 103, il.
• Tesoros del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : pintura, 1400-1939 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, El Viso, 1989. pp. 149-150, n° cat. 58.
• El museo imaginado : arte canario 1930-1990 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, El Viso, 1991. pp. 145, 219, il.
• Desde el volcán : artistas canarios del siglo veinte [Cat. exp.]. Caracas, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas, 1993. s.p., il.
• El Surrealismo en España, 1924-1939 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, 1994. pp. 167, 362, n° cat. 49.
• Oscar Domínguez : 1926 antológica 1957 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Tabapres, 1995. pp. 96, 253, il.
• De Picasso a Dalí : as raízes da vanguarda espanhola = las raíces de la vanguardia española : 1907-1936 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Sociedad Estatal Lisboa'98, 1998. pp. 41, 123, 202-203, 278-279, n° cat. 22.
• 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. 84-85.
• Tránsitos : artistas españoles antes y después de la guerra civil [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Fundación Caja Madrid, 1999. pp. 220, 278, n° cat. 58.
• Calvo Serraller, Francisco ; González Escribano, Raquel. Las cien mejores obras del siglo XX : historia visual de la pintura española. Madrid, Tf Editores ; Sociedad Estatal España Nuevo Milenio, 2000. il.
• Zugaza, Miguel ... [et al.]. Maestros antiguos y modernos en las colecciones del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2001. pp. 212-213.
• Palabras y miradas : Luis Cernuda y la vanguardia histórica española [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, 2002. pp. 94-95, n° cat. 94.
• Huellas Dalinianas [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Sociedad Estatal de Conmemoraciones Culturales, 2004. pp. 84, 123, 261, 320, il.
• París i els surrealistes [Cat. exp.]. Barcelona, Centre de Cultura Contemporània, 2005. pp. 129, 288, il.
• Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 179.
• París y los Surrealistas [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2005. p. 144, il.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 179.
• Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 179.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. p. 179, n° cat. 127.
• Castro Borrego, Fernando. Óscar Domínguez. Madrid, Fundación Mapfre, 2011. pp. 14, 16.
• Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. p. 179, n° cat. 127.
• Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 179.
• Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 179.
• Fisiología de los sueños : Cajal, Tanguy, Lorca, Dalí ... [Cat. exp.]. Zaragoza, Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza, 2015. pp. 47, 272-273, sin n° cat.
• 110 Años 110 Obras [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 246-247, sin n° cat.
• 110 Ans 110 Oeuvres [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 246-247, sin n° cat.
• 110 Urte 110 Artelan [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 246-247, sin n° cat.
• 110 Years 110 Works [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 246-247, 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. 62-63, 65, 68, 71, 73, n° cat. 30.
• Después del 68 : arte y prácticas artísticas en el País Vasco, 1968-2018 [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. p. 340.
• Guerra Cabrera, José Carlos. Óscar Domínguez : obra, contexto y tragedia. Islas Canarias, José Carlos Guerra Cabrera, 2020. pp. 35-36, 43, 138, il.