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123
FEDERICO BELTRÁN MASSES (1885-1949)
The item was sold for 11 700 €
Fees include commission and taxes.
FEDERICO BELTRÁN MASSES (1885-1949)
Odalisque with fruit
Oil on canvas
Signed lower left
(Small gaps in the paint layer and old restorations)
Oil on canvas, signed lower left
98 x 99 cm - 38 5/8 x 39 in.
Provenance
Private collection, France
Note
Federico Beltrán Masses was born in Cuba, then Spain's last colony, where his military father was stationed. He moved to Barcelona at the age of seven and trained first at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts, then moved to Madrid, where he continued his apprenticeship in Spanish and European art at the Prado alongside the painter Joaquin Sorolla. In 1915, he painted "La Maja Marquesa", a nude portrait of a Spanish countess. The painting caused a scandal and was rejected by the National Fine Arts Exhibition Committee. Following this affair, Federico Beltran Masses decided to move to Paris in 1916. Having received the support of Spanish royalty following the purchase of one of his paintings by King Alfonso XIII, the artist acquired an important reputation that opened the doors to Parisian high society. In 1916, he received recognition from the Société nationale des beaux-arts in Paris, a city in which he continued to live for the next few years. In 1920, the artist exhibited at the BBBBiennale in Venice to great acclaim. One of his exhibits was a nude entitled "Salomé", now on show at the Casa Lis Museum of Art Deco and Art Nouveau in Salamanca. This trip had a major influence on his artistic production, as he developed the habit of placing his figures in imaginary Venetian frames, as in "Portrait de Madeleine Bonnardel, Comtesse de Montgomery". During his many international exhibitions, Beltrán-Masses won numerous prizes in the United States (where he became friends with Rudolph Valentino), Belgium, Italy and India, and took part in the Spanish-French Beaux-Arts exhibition in 1919. Portraits of women are Federico Beltrán Masses' specialty. He depicts them as mysterious and seductive, using tones that are both dark and intense. The originality of his painting lies in his night scenes and his dramatic use of light. To achieve this particular atmosphere, the painter works in a darkened room where he projects light onto his models, creating a strange contrast between bodies and scenery. Shades of deep blue against a starry sky characterize his favorite tone, known as "Beltran Blue". The painter's Spanish and Cuban heritage is also evident in the characters' costumes and the many musical and poetic references. His painting also recalls the atmosphere of Charles Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs du Mal", and was chosen to illustrate an edition of the poetry collection. Federico Beltrán Masses met with great success during his lifetime, painting portraits of numerous personalities, including royalty such as King George VI, actors such as Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks, and businessmen such as William Randolph Hearst.
Odalisque with fruit
Oil on canvas
Signed lower left
(Small gaps in the paint layer and old restorations)
Oil on canvas, signed lower left
98 x 99 cm - 38 5/8 x 39 in.
Provenance
Private collection, France
Note
Federico Beltrán Masses was born in Cuba, then Spain's last colony, where his military father was stationed. He moved to Barcelona at the age of seven and trained first at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts, then moved to Madrid, where he continued his apprenticeship in Spanish and European art at the Prado alongside the painter Joaquin Sorolla. In 1915, he painted "La Maja Marquesa", a nude portrait of a Spanish countess. The painting caused a scandal and was rejected by the National Fine Arts Exhibition Committee. Following this affair, Federico Beltran Masses decided to move to Paris in 1916. Having received the support of Spanish royalty following the purchase of one of his paintings by King Alfonso XIII, the artist acquired an important reputation that opened the doors to Parisian high society. In 1916, he received recognition from the Société nationale des beaux-arts in Paris, a city in which he continued to live for the next few years. In 1920, the artist exhibited at the BBBBiennale in Venice to great acclaim. One of his exhibits was a nude entitled "Salomé", now on show at the Casa Lis Museum of Art Deco and Art Nouveau in Salamanca. This trip had a major influence on his artistic production, as he developed the habit of placing his figures in imaginary Venetian frames, as in "Portrait de Madeleine Bonnardel, Comtesse de Montgomery". During his many international exhibitions, Beltrán-Masses won numerous prizes in the United States (where he became friends with Rudolph Valentino), Belgium, Italy and India, and took part in the Spanish-French Beaux-Arts exhibition in 1919. Portraits of women are Federico Beltrán Masses' specialty. He depicts them as mysterious and seductive, using tones that are both dark and intense. The originality of his painting lies in his night scenes and his dramatic use of light. To achieve this particular atmosphere, the painter works in a darkened room where he projects light onto his models, creating a strange contrast between bodies and scenery. Shades of deep blue against a starry sky characterize his favorite tone, known as "Beltran Blue". The painter's Spanish and Cuban heritage is also evident in the characters' costumes and the many musical and poetic references. His painting also recalls the atmosphere of Charles Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs du Mal", and was chosen to illustrate an edition of the poetry collection. Federico Beltrán Masses met with great success during his lifetime, painting portraits of numerous personalities, including royalty such as King George VI, actors such as Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks, and businessmen such as William Randolph Hearst.