ANTONIO SAURA
Huesca,(Spain) 1930 – Cuenca,(Spain) 1998 

Self-taught, he started painting in 1947 during a convalescence, and in 1950 he presented his first exhibition in Saragossa, showing Constelaciones (Constellations) and Rayogramas (Rayograms), paintings of an experimental nature connected with Surrealism. During this period the influence of Surrealism was fundamental, as can be seen in works with a dream quality, Paisajes (Landscapes), which he exhibited at Buchholz (1951-52) and in his involvement with its defence in exhibitions such as Arte fantástico, held at Clan in 1953. Between 1951 and 1953 he lived in Paris, where he discovered the work of Wols and Dubuffet and Action Painting. In 1956 he returned to Spain and showed works that focused on gesture and matter –Damas (Ladies), Cabezas (Heads), Autorretratos (Self-portraits)- at the National Library, using only black and white. In 1957 he founded the group El Paso, which he directed until it broke up in 1960. During those years he produced various series with themes and structures that continued subsequently –Retratos imaginarios (Imaginary Portraits), Desnudos-Paisajes (Nudes-Landscapes), Multitudes and Sudarios (Shrouds)- incorporating figurative elements, distorted characters made with thick, aggressive brushstrokes imbued with an imaginative link with the Spanish baroque. In the seventies he gave up using only black and white and produced his first etchings and silkscreen prints. His work was shown in various selective exhibitions (Stedelijk Museum, 1963 and 1966, ICA, 1966) and he started on the series Mujer-sillón (Woman-Armchair). In 1967 he established his residence in Paris and he gave up painting in oils from 1968 to 1978. During this period he devoted himself to work on paper –Cartones (Cartoons), Superposiciones (Superimpositions), Trampantojos (Traps)- and to illustrating books- Trois Visions de Quevedo, La cámara ardiente. In 1979 the Stedelijk Museum presented a retrospective exhibition, which was also shown in Düsseldorf, Madrid and Barcelona, a year before he was awarded the National Visual Arts Prize. After returning to painting in oils, in 1983 he produced the series Dora Maar revisitada (Dora Maar visited), which was followed by large paintings exhibited at the Abbeys of Sénanque (Gordes) and Montmajour (Arles). Meanwhile, there were retrospectives of his graphic work (Cabinet des Estampes, in Geneva, 1985, with the publication of a catalogue raisonné, and Wiener Secession, 1989) and thematic exhibitions (Neue Galerie-Sammlung Ludwig in Aachen, 1986, and Musée d’Art et d’Histoire in Geneva, 1989, IVAM and MNCARS, 1990), and he continued with his work as an illustrator –Don Quijote de la Mancha, Kafka’s Tagebücher, the collected work of Saint John of the Cross, and Pinocho- and as a designer of theatre sets –Carmen, for the Staatstheater in Stuttgart.