Composition
Manolo Millares (1926-1972)
Category
Art / Drawings and watercolours
Date
circa 1962
Materials
Gouache on paper glazed in a wooden frame
Measurements
480 x 290 mm
Order this imageCollection
Dudmaston, Shropshire
NT 815188
Summary
Gouache on paper, Composition by Manolo Millares (1926 - 1972), circa 1962. The artist uses strong blacks and reds, characteristic of Millares and reminiscent of Goya. Deep card box mount; glazed in wood frame painted black. This abstract picture is similar to a series of work in black and white which spanned the years 1956 to 1963. This series included a sub-series entitled ‘Homuncolos’ – man in a primitive state. The strong blacks and reds are reminiscent of the Spanish painter Goya. Red provides a dramatic contrast to this otherwise black and white composition. “Red-white-black are the colours of a tattered flag overrun by black, where the red hardly drips, but where the white bides its time.” (Jose-Augusto Franca, ‘Homage to Manolo Millares – His Last Paintings’) There are areas where Millares has scratched away the paint and areas where paint has been dripped onto the surface. These colours could be seen as funeral black and blood red.
Provenance
Previously with the art dealer Macarron SA, Jovellanos, 2, Madrid; Sir George Labouchere collection; Bought by private treaty sale from Lord de Ramsay in 2009.
Marks and inscriptions
Macarron Gallery (label pasted on reverse)
Makers and roles
Manolo Millares (1926-1972), artist