The Bridge at Burceña - Bilbao Fine Arts Museum

Buy image

The Bridge at Burceña

Arteta, Aurelio

Bilbao, 02/12/1879 -Mexico City, 10/11/1940

Oil on canvas

100 x 83.5 cm

A. Arteta (bottom right hand corner)

c. 1925-1930

First third of the 20th century

82/162

Acquired in 1940

The Bridge at Burceña is surely the most unique painting by Aurelio Arteta from the 1920s. Painted at an imprecise date which some historians have placed between 1925 and 1930, for years it was an atypical work in the painter's oeuvre because of its composition, which has no precursors or equals in other known paintings by Arteta. The background of working-class housing in red, ochre and grey, with its strongly cubic volumes, is comparable to other paintings from the period, as is the partial view of the river waters with fragments of boats jutting out on the banks. The same holds true of the diagonal view of the houses, and people seen from the back are also common, slipping towards an unquestionable melancholy in this man's posture.

However, the formalised diamond made by the crisscrossing iron beams holding up the bridge is unquestionably the most powerful compositional element in the scene, since it is highlighted by being inserted within a kind of geometric parenthesis that spotlights and frames it inside the painting itself. This gives the view a kind of spirituality, an upward movement which simultaneously expands the landscape of the everyday on both sides. It can be interpreted in a metaphorical sense: industrialisation is a window through which we can see life today as it ebbs and flows before the observer, within which the individual is enclosed, like a prisoner in a tangled web, but from which he is promised a kind of existential betterment as his understanding of what is happening expands.

The atypicality of this composition was muted when a small triptych which had previously been unknown was discovered. The Construction is another work made up of a central oval and two side rectangles, and it shows three scenes of a building under construction from the inside of one of the upper floors of the building itself. The two side images contain views down towards the nearby land, and the central scene shows a Manhattan-esque urban landscape, an intermediate rural area where several farmhouses threatened by the proximity of the large skyscrapers still survive, and the zone near the construction site from which the view is taken. In the foreground, over the dangerous void, workers are striving to place iron beams which will support one of the floors in the building. The point that interests us, in terms of understanding The Bridge at Burceña, is that Arteta used beams (iron or steel H-beams) for geometry and composition in this triptych, albeit in a less powerful way.

As has been asked repeatedly, should we see Arteta's predilection for working-class neighbourhoods as a representation of his socialist ideology? This interpretation goes too far. Just like many other painters of his day (Torres García, Vázquez Díaz, García Maroto, Gutiérrez Solana, etc.), Arteta found the industrial slums to harbour a peculiar range of physical and human situations, a new world that had never before been painted in which smokestacks and houses, streetcars and vegetable gardens, constructions by engineers and rowboats coexisted in the same place, giving rise to unusual compositional possibilities boasting a fascinating hybrid beauty. This was what interested Arteta, more than ideologies.

On the other hand, once he began to be influenced by Cubist echoes, he found simple, striking volumes without either decorations or architectural displays in these working-class constructions, which enabled him to wield the post-Cubist language without overly distorting reality. In this same sense, he drew from the long lines of iron structures like those of the bridge at Burceña.

There is no doubt that Arteta had a political and social opinion about the human and labour realities that he saw when painting subjects that sparked his interest as an artist; he was a diehard supporter of democracy, but he conveys no personal viewpoint in his paintings. He is not rhetorical, nor is he making propaganda, nor does he subordinate painting to any purpose other than the painting itself. Yet that does not mean that he is only interested in art for art's sake.

We know that his affinities were aligned towards what was then a rare political space somewhere between the moderate left represented by his close friend Indalecio Prieto and the social conscience of post-Rerum Novarum Christianity embodied by his other great friend, the architect Ricardo Bastida. Arteta's paintings depicting working-class milieus have sometimes been viewed from this ideological-political perspective due to this empathy for social concerns. However, today we should not analyse them in this facile, primary sense, nor of course were they interpreted that way back in the day by their buyers, who were almost always prominent members of the Basque financial and industrial bourgeoisie. (Javier González de Durana)

Selected bibliography

  • Exposición organizada con motivo de la concesión, por la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, de la Medalla de Honor al Ayuntamiento de la Villa [Folleto]. Bilbao, Ayuntamiento, 1952. n° cat. 34.
  • 50 años de pintura vasca, 1885-1935 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, 1971. n° cat. 18.
  • Gaya Nuño, Juan Antonio. La pintura española del siglo XX. Madrid, Iberico Europea de Ediciones, 1972. pp. 124-125.
  • 50 años de pintura vasca, 1885-1935 [Cat. exp.]. San Sebastián, Museo de San Telmo, 1972. s. p., n° cat. 15.
  • Álvarez Emparanza, Juan María. Origen y evolución de la pintura vasca = Euskal pinturaren sorrera eta eboluzioa. Donostia-San Sebastián, Caja de Ahorros Provincial de Guipúzcoa, 1973. p. 178.
  • Pintores y escultores vascos de ayer, hoy y mañana : Aurelio Arteta II. Bilbao, La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca, 1973. p. 335.
  • Bengoechea, Javier de. Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao. Bilbao, La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca, 1978. pp. 302-303.
  • Homenaje a Aurelio Arteta en el centenario de su nacimiento [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Banco de Bilbao, 1979. p. 106, n° cat. 21.
  • Llano Gorostiza, Manuel. Pintura vasca. Bilbao, Editorial Neguri, 1980. p. 86.
  • Bengoechea, Javier de. Catálogo de arte moderno y contemporáneo del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya, 1980. p. 24. (Con el título Puente de Burceña).
  • Kortadi, Edorta. La escuela vasca de pintura. San Sebastián, Erein, 1982. p. 186.
  • Ortega y su tiempo [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Ministerio de Cultura, 1983. p. 117. N° cat. 3
  • A. Arteta, 1879-1940 [Folleto]. Bayonne, Musée Bonnat, 1984. n° cat. 28.
  • Guash, Ana Maria. Arte e ideología en el País Vasco : 1940-1980 : un modelo de análisis sociológico de la práctica pictórica contemporánea. Torrejón de Ardoz, Akal, 1985. p. 54.
  • Exposición centenario : 1886-1986 [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Cámara de Comercio, Industria y Navegación de Bilbao, 1986. p. 115.
  • Valle Inclán y su tiempo hoy : 1986 Cincuentenario [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Ministerio de Cultura, Instituto Nacional de las Artes Escénicas y de la Música, 1986. p. 67. N° cat. 133
  • Exposición centenario : 1886-1986 [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Industria y Navegación de Bilbao, 1986. p. 115.
  • Barañano, Kosme María de ; González de Durana, Javier ; Juaristi, Jon. Arte en el País Vasco. Madrid, Arte, 1987. p. 233.
  • Tesoros del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : pintura, 1400-1939 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, El Viso, 1989. pp. 178-179, n° cat. 72.
  • Picasso, Miró, Dalí und der Beginn der spanischen Moderne : 1900-1936 [Cat. exp.]. Frankfurt am Main ; Madrid, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt ; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, 1991. pp. 106, 319, n° cat. 3.
  • Litvak, Lily. El tiempo de los trenes : el paisaje español en el arte y la literatura del realismo : 1849-1918. Barcelona, Serval, 1991. p. 201.
  • Bozal, Valeriano. Pintura y Escultura españolas del siglo XX, 1900-1939. Madrid, Editorial Espasa-Calpe, 1992. p. 413.
  • González de Durana, Javier. Ideologías artísticas en el País Vasco de 1900 : arte y política en los orígenes de la modernidad. Bilbao, Ekin, 1992. 213.
  • García Díez, José Antonio ; Arcediano, Santiago. Euskal margolariak Aurrezki Kutxen bildumetan II = Pintores vascos en las colecciones de las Cajas de Ahorros II. Bilbao, Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa ; Gipuzkoa Donostia Kutxa ; Vital Kutxa, 1993. p. 27.
  • Plazaola, Juan. Euskal margolariak Aurrezki Kutxen bildumetan III = Pintores vascos en las colecciones de las Cajas de Ahorros III. Bilbao, Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa ; Gipuzkoa Donostia Kutxa ; Vital Kutxa, 1994. p. 27.
  • Spanyol mestermuvek a Bilbaói Szépmuvészeti Múzeumból [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao ; Banco Bilbao Vizcaya , 1996. p. 19.
  • Tradition and modernity in basque painting, 1880-1939 = Tradición y modernidad en la pintura vasca, 1880-1939 [Cat. exp.]. Southampton ; Bilbao, Southampton City Art Gallery ; Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 1997. pp. 38-39.
  • Encina, Juan de la. Pintores vascos : comentarios sueltos : 1906-1941. Bilbao, El Tilo, 1997. p. 145.
  • Realismo Mágico : Franz Roh y la pintura europea 1917-1936 [Cat. exp.]. Valencia, IVAM Institut Valencià d'Art Modern, 1997. pp. 139, 249
  • Marcos, Matilde. Arteta : estudio de la figura. Bilbao, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea = Universidad del País Vasco, 1998. pp. 210-211.
  • Juan de la Encina y el arte de su tiempo : 1883-1963 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid ; Bilbao, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía ; Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 1998. p. 23.
  • Aurelio Arteta : una mirada esencial, 1879-1940 [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 1998. pp. 68-69, 146-147, 189-190, n° cat. 45.
  • 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. 28, 109, 190, 242-243, n° cat. 4.
  • Zugaza, Miguel ... [et al.]. Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : maestros antiguos y modernos. Bilbao, Fundación Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa = Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa Fundazioa, 1999. pp. 198-199.
  • Höllhuber, Dietrich ; Schäfke, Werner. Der Spanische Jakobsweg : landschaft, geschichte und Kunst auf dem Weg nach Santiago de Compostela. Köln, DuMont, 1999. p. 47.
  • Tradición y modernidad en la pintura vasca : en las colecciones del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Valencia, Autoridad Portuaria de Valencia, 1999. p. 30.
  • Viar Olloqui, Javier. Bilbao en el arte : de 1875 a 1936. Bilbao, Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa, 2000. pp. 110-113.
  • 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. p. 97.
  • 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. p. 123.
  • Tejada y la pintura : un relato desvelado, 1914-1925 [Cat. exp.]. Segovia, Caja Segovia, Obra Social y Cultural, 2003. pp. 72-74.
  • Bilbao a Genova : la cultura cambia le città [Cat. exp.]. Milano, Skira, 2003. p. 73.
  • Daniel Vázquez Díaz, 1882-1969 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid ; Bilbao, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía ; Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2004. p. 87.
  • Viar Olloqui, Javier. "Les Basques dans la peinture", Pays Basque Magazine, Oct-Nov. 2005. p. 9.
  • Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. pp. 144-145.
  • Guía Artistas Vascos. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2008. pp. 76-78.
  • Gida Euskal Artistak. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Eder Museoa, 2008. pp. 76, 78.
  • Entre dos siglos : España 1900 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Fundación Mapfre, 2008. p. 110.
  • González de Durana, Javier. Aurelio Arteta. Madrid, Fundacion Mapfre, 2008. pp. 57-59, 63.
  • Novecentismo y Vanguardia, 1910-1936 : en la colección del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2009. pp. 266-267, n° cat. 85.
  • Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. pp. 144-145, n° cat. 101b.
  • Guide Basque Artists. Bilbao, Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, 2012. pp. 75-77, n° cat. 35e.
  • Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. pp. 144-145, n° cat. 101b.
  • Bozal, Valeriano. Historia de la pintura y la escultura del siglo XX en España, 1900-1939. Madrid, Machado Libros, 2013. p. 176, il.
  • Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. pp. 144-145.
  • Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. pp. 144-145.
  • Generación del 14 : ciencia y modernidad [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España ; Sociedad Estatal de Acción Cultural, 2014. p. 182.
  • Maestros : Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao . Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 94-95, il.
  • Maisuak : Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 94-95, il.
  • Masters : Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 94-95, il.
  • Maîtres : Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bilbao. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 94-95, il.
  • Viar, Javier. Historia del arte vasco : de la Guerra Civil a nuestros días, 1936-2016. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2017. pp. 35, 655.
  • El mundo de Giorgio de Chirico : sueño o realidad [Cat. exp.]. Barcelona, Fundación la Caixa ; Ediciones invisibles, 2017. p. 54, il.
  • 110 Años 110 Obras [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 234-237, sin n° cat.
  • 110 Years 110 Works [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 234-237, sin n° cat.
  • 110 Ans 110 Oeuvres [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 234-237, sin n° cat.
  • 110 Urte 110 Artelan [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 234-237, 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. 392-394, 397-398, 401, n° cat. 218.
  • Barañano, Kosme de. Bilbao y la pintura [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, FMGB Guggenheim Bilbao, 2021. p. 152, il.
  • Barañano, Kosme de ; Espel, Miguel. Manuel Losada : catálogo razonado. Madrid, El Lotófago, 2021. p. 79.
  • Berruguete, Ana. Daniel Vázquez Díaz, entre tradición y vanguardia [Tesis doctoral]. Madrid, Universidad Complutense, 2015. p. 212, il.