Fernando Zobel

Private Collection, Spain

The work is in good condition overall. No restoration is found under ultraviolet light inspection. Framed.
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My painting has always been tranquil. I seek order in everything that
surrounds me. In order, in the broadest sense of the word, I seek the
explanation of beauty. A long time ago, I was struck by the fact that, in
Japanese, the adjectives, clean and beautiful, are expressed by the same word”.

- Fernando Zobel

As one of the paintings from La Serie Negra, Fernando Zobel continues in occupying the composition with a monochrome color palette. On a particular day in 1959, it suddenly occurred to Zobel that the use of colours was arbitrary and distracting, which led to the birth of La Serie Negra paintings. He was greatly inspired by Franz Kline and Oriental Calligraphy. The series marked a key period in the artist's career.

Riofrio was painted in 1962, the same year that La Serie Negra ended. The work signifies a key period in Zobel’s artistic development, with the artist actively exploring different styles and aesthetics that adhered to his own personal ideals. As seen in the current piece, Zobel conveys a sense of movement throughout the composition. The select color scheme of black and white further instills a sense of pictorial tension in Riofrio. It is an aesthetical pairing of colors and ambience as experienced by the artist, and redefined within the lyrical composition of the painting.