Lot description
PROPERTY FROM THE HAYDEN AND VICKI BELO-KHO COLLECTION Variante Sobre Un Tema de Cassatt signed (lower left and verso), dated 29 July 1967, titled, and inscribed "67-33" (verso) oil on canvas 31 1/2" x 31 1/2" (80 cm x 80 cm) PROVENANCE Galeria Grises, Bilbao Acquired from the above in 1967 and thence by descent to the current owner LITERATURE De la Torre, Alfonso and Rafael Pérez-Madero. Fernando Zóbel: Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings (1946 - 1984). Madrid: Fundación Azcona, 2022. Listed as "67-33" with painting description on page 349. EXHIBITED Galería Grises, Fernando Zóbel, Bilbao, 2 - 16 November 1967 Fernando Zóbel’s return to color in 1967 marked the start of many of his new series, and one of the earliest is his Diálogos, featuring his conversations with the works of other eminent artists. Using pencil, pen, or brush, Diálogos forges a connection with an artist who is disconnected from the time’s relentless pace. “The idea behind Diálogos is to speak of art with art, but with the brushes at the ready,” Zóbel said in a 1978 interview with Carlos García Osuna. “I stand before a picture I like, and I prefer to communicate with that work by painting too. It’s a way of seeing and doing painting and will become a constant in my life, because it’s a pleasure and I see no reason to stop practising it… When “I speak” in these dialogues, I concentrate on one facet, and the result is not an imitation but a comment.” In Variante Sobre Un Tema de Cassatt, Zóbel converses with Mary Cassatt. In 1868, Cassatt made history by being one of the two American women to first exhibit at the Paris Salon. Her contributions in the realm of Impressionism are immeasurable, bringing to the forefront the portrayal of women and children in emotionally resonant works. Up to this day, Cassatt remains a pivotal figure in art history and feminist movements. Despite existing almost a whole century later, Variante Sobre Un Tema de Cassatt is a poignant example of Zóbel’s Diálogos and its transcendent quality. In this work, Mary Cassatt and Fernando Zóbel converse, creating a contemporary take on the Greats of Art, as well as offering a unique interplay between the past and the present. (Hannah Valiente)
