Composition
Antoni Clavé (Barcelona 1913 - 2005)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1960
Materials
Oil on canvas glazed in a wooden frame
Measurements
730 x 1080 mm
Place of origin
Spain
Order this imageCollection
Dudmaston, Shropshire
NT 813621
Caption
Stage designer as well as painter and sometimes a sculptor, from 1956 Clavé incorporated collage elements into many of his paintings and his work gradually veered towards abstraction as this, which is one of the pieces of modern art that Sir George Labouchere (1905 – 1999), whose final diplomatic posting had been as ambassador in Madrid (1960-66), introduced to Dudmaston in Shropshire. He had begun collecting when at the British embassy in Brussels in the 1950s but the works by dissident artists in President Franco’s Spain such as those of the members of the El Paso group, is incomparable elsewhere in the United Kingdom. He and his wife, Rachel Katherine Hamilton-Russell, Lady Labouchere (1908-1996), niece of Geoffrey Wolryche-Whitmore (1881- 1969) whose wish of giving the property to the National Trust was fulfilled in 1978, converted a dining-room for the special display of their contemporary art and old Chinese ceramics
Summary
Oil and paper painting on canvas, Composition by Antoni Clavé (Barcelona 1913 - 2005), 1960. An almost abstract collage using brown paper against dark blue ground, highlighted in shades of blue and white, possibly portraying the shape of a fish. Narrow fabric slip, black and gold painted frame. This work is not completely abstract. Other similar works produced at this time were entitled ‘Deux Poisson’ and ‘Poisson au fond Rouge’ and it may well be that this work had a similar original title. The background is dark enough to evoke night or the depths of the sea. Against this background, the brilliant blues and startling light appear luminous. Brown parcel paper has been torn and stuck onto the canvas. The apparent figure of a fish has the appearance of being fossilised. Clave’s early career as designer of weekly cinema posters and advertising posters led to his service as a draughtsman for the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). Fleeing to France in 1939, Clave was not to visit Spain again until 1954, and it was around this time that his paintings became more abstract – like this ‘Composition’ – and he started exploring with texture and scraps of materials in his work.
Provenance
Sir George Labouchere collection.
Credit line
Dudmaston, The Sir George Labouchere Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Clave (signed bottom right)
Makers and roles
Antoni Clavé (Barcelona 1913 - 2005), artist