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The oeuvre of Bran van Velde can be described as one of the most notable experiments in European Abstract Expressionism. With an underlying geometric structure often based on duplications, it seems to contain figurative elements that are never quite defined and that confer the work a mysterious and ambiguous flavour.

A primeval spirit that emerges from the memory of the decorative rhythms present in the folklore of primitive peoples, tattoo designs, body paintings, fabric decoration, totems and masks with their magical reiteration also imbues this painting. However, what is usually emphasised in Van Velde's art are its pictorial qualities, its lack of references outside of its own plastic resources, and its absence of rhetoric or conceptual impurities.

Of Dutch origin, Van Velde moved to Paris in 1925. The artist, who had Expressionist inclinations, adopted upon his arrival in the French capital the violent colours of Fauvism, to which he would remain faithful. In 1932 he set up residence in Majorca, although he left the island four years later upon the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Throughout the thirties Van Velde developed a form of abstraction that would evolve, after the Second World War, into a highly personal style of which this painting is an excellent example. [Javier Viar]

Selected bibliography

• Putman, Jacques. Bram Van Belde. París, Maeght, 1975. pp. 111, 198, il.
• "¡Vive tu museo! = Zure Museoa bizi!", Guía de Exposiciones, n° 105. 1988.
• Bram Van Velde, 1895-1981 [Cat. exp.]. Bern, Benteli Verlag, 1989. (en la cubierta)
• Cat. Bram Van Velde. París, Centre Georges Pompidou, 1989. p. 125.
• Bram Van Velde [Cat. exp.]. Valencia ; Madrid, IVAM Centre Julio González ; Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, 1990. p. 127.
• Bram Van Velde, 1895-1981 [Cat. exp.]. Ginebra, Musées d'Art et d'Histoire, 1996. p. 185, n° cat. 118.
• Después de Goya : una mirada Subjetiva [Cat. exp.]. Madrid ; Zaragoza, Electa ; Gobierno de Aragón, 1996. pp. 204-205, n° cat. 87.
• 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. 130-131.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 186.
• Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 186.
• Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 186.
• Slagter, Erik. Bram van Velde = Geer van Velde. Heerenveen, Holanda, Museum Belvédère, 2010. p. 98.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. p. 186, n° cat. 132.
• Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. p. 186, n° cat. 132.
• Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 186.
• Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 186.
• 110 Años 110 Obras [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 282-283, sin n° cat.
• 110 Ans 110 Oeuvres [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 282-283, sin n° cat.
• 110 Urte 110 Artelan [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 282-283, sin n° cat.
• 110 Years 110 Works [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 282-283, 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. 220-221, n° cat. 122.
• 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.