Antoni Tàpies, Aquatint in Colors, ‘Quatre rius de sang’, 1972 Aquatint in colors and carborundum

As a committed Catalan Antoni Tàpies deals in this print with the autonomy issue of his homeland. The title quotes a song about the Spanish Civil War by the Catalan singer Raimon. The four brown red stripes on the yellow a yellow color streak are reminiscent of the Catalan coat of arms and the embossed names that cover the paper, call among others Catalan artists and writers. The print was published by Editiones La Polígrafa in Barcelona in an edition of 75 + several H.C. copies.

The etching in colors with carborundum is signed lower right in pencil ‘Tàpies’ and inscribed lower left in pencil ‘H.C.’. The sheet is minor time-stained and shows a soft crease lower right. There are four glue remains at the upper sheet edge on the reverse that slightly show though on recto. The overall condition is good. The frame is in good condition, too, with slight signs of wear. The sheet-sized image measures 58.5 x 77.5 cm. The framed dimensions are 70 x 90 cm.

Antoni Tàpies (1923-2012)

Antoni Tàpies is one of the main representatives of Spanish Art Informel. In the style of the ‘pintura matèrica’ movement, he mixed materials like sand, cement, marble dust and glue in his paintings, adding letters, symbols and crosses. He taught himself to draw and paint while still at school. Tàpies attended law school for three years, and then studied painting at the Acadèmia Valls in Barcelona. He was among the founders of the art group ‘Dau al Set’, a movement with links to the surrealist and Dadaist artists. His interest for philosophy led him to read existentialist literature. Tàpies’s works are represented in international museums and were shown at the Venice Biennale and documenta in Kassel. In 1884, Tàpies founded the Fundació Antoni Tàpies in Barcelona, where he lived and worked until his death in 2012. In 2010, he was honored with the title ‘Marqués’ by the Spanish king Juan Carlos I. (fea)

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