Francisco Narváez

Galería Li, Caracas
Private Collection, Caracas (acquired from the above and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 29, 1997, lot 25) 
Acquired at the above sale 

Caracas, Galería de Arte Nacional, Francisco Narváez. Figuración y expresión (1930-1950). En el centenario de su nacimiento, 2005
Biarritz, Espace Bellevue, Passion et raison d’un esprit constructif: Une Conquête de l’art d’Amérique Latine, oeuvres de la Fundación Daniela Chappard, 2006, no. 1, illustrated in color in the catalogue 

This work is in very good condition overall. The rough texture of the stone is inherent. Three half-inch horiznotal scuffs are present on the upper knee of the figure, and four half-inch scuffs are present on her arm- these may be inherent to the stone selected by the artist.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Considered as one of the most significant artists in transforming the paradigm of art produced in Venezuela in the early twentieth-century, Francisco Narváez’s works represent a radical point of departure from the rigid, European academic and aesthetic norms imposed at the time. Bringing forth a new artistic vision, his works transformed the various Western representational standards of beauty to one that was representative of a more universalized ideal of belleza criolla (creole beauty).

After first studying painting at the revered Academía de Bellas Artes in Caracas, Narváez eventually traveled to Paris in 1928 to further his artistic career. During his time at the Académie Julian, he encountered the artists of the Montparnasse. While the works and aesthetic principles of the École de Paris artists such as Raoul Dufy, Chaïm Soutine and Amedeo Modigliani influenced Narváez’s early works, his return to Venezuela in 1931 would mark the birth of his own sculptural language—one that was inexorably linked to deep national roots, exalting the ethnic elements of its beauty.

Executed within the first years of his return from Paris to his native Venezuela, Mujer reclinada (circa 1932) is a definitive example of Narváez’s revolutionary aesthetic. His technical mastery as a sculptor, in this case in delicate limestone, is evident here: while compact in size, the work embodies a harmony of both volume and simplicity of shape (disregarding superfluous embellishment). Depicted in a classical, odalisque pose, the female figure here is majestic in its exalted portrayal of the Venezuelan native, the mestiza, as a universal icon: one of the fishermen, bathers and the margariteñas Narváez had known from his childhood on the Island of Margarita. Individual, identifying facial features have been erased for a simplified oval; there is a vigorous purity and simplification to the shape of the body overall that verges on the unidentifiable, the inclusionary and the universally human.