Antonio Saura stands among the Spanish painters who have left a lasting international impression in recent decades. His iconography, stark and almost schematic in black and white, became instantly recognizable at venues like the Venice Biennale and the MoMA, where he appeared as part of the El Paso group. As Valencia prepares to mark 25 years since the artist’s passing and 50 years since the Bancaja Foundation opened its doors, the main retrospective dedicated to Saura arrives. Rafael Alcón, president of the Bancaja Foundation, recalls that when asked how he wished to be remembered, Saura replied, “I lived by painting.” He valued painting above all else, and he painted with a determined clarity, right down to the tip of the knife.
Early supporters of the exhibition included Tomás Llorens, a former director of IVAM, Reina Sofia, and Thyssen curator, who passed away in 2021 at eighty-four. The curatorial process later recalled, “This proposal grew from a conversation with my friend Tomás Llorens. Alcón would love to see the idea realized.”
“Antonio Saura. Essential” surveys the artist’s career through 87 works loaned from the Reina Sofía Museum, with two exceptions: “Foule” from the Caja Rural de Aragón Foundation and “Las tres Gracias” from the Bancaja Foundation. The show opened with Rosario Peiró of Valencia presenting the collection department of Reina Sofía, while Rafael Alcón, and commissioners Fernando Castro and Lola Durán attended the event. Castro notes that Saura’s global reach is a testament to a generation of artists who created a powerful impact well beyond their borders. The El Paso group is credited with catalyzing a space for freedom in Spanish art during the late 1950s, and its 1960s exhibitions are remembered for their bold, transformative presence.
Against the “Spanish” label
Saura consistently challenged the label of being a “Spanish artist” used abroad, particularly due to the country’s perceived tragic undertones. Yet he acknowledged his debt to older masters like Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco. He resisted nationalistic readings, but the truth is that his work reflected a distinctly Spanish sensibility layered with universal themes. The curators emphasize this tension as part of Saura’s enduring relevance.
Saura’s temperament, thirst for knowledge, rural roots, and dreamlike sensibility are key aspects of his life. He spent a period in Valencia when his father worked as a lawyer and tax technician. Early tragedies and illness shaped his path: bone tuberculosis confined him for five years, a stretch that deepened his exposure to music, literature, and visual art. Those years set the foundation for a prolific career, even as personal losses marked his later life, including the deaths of his two daughters, Ana and Elena, in the 1980s and 1990s.
Automat
In his initial artistic phase, Saura cultivated a growing interest in surrealism, a current gaining momentum at the time. He staged two early exhibitions, one in Zaragoza and another in Madrid, then moved to Paris where he received a warm reception from fellow artists. That experience shifted his view of surrealism. He found the contemporary interpretation of the movement less forward-looking than anticipated, sensing a backward-looking trend. From then on, his paintings leaned toward psychic automatism, a term that captures the spontaneous, inner impulse driving his art. Durán explains that this shift marked a decisive turn in Saura’s approach.
What followed was a visceral, almost primal drive to paint—a struggle between artist and canvas. The works from this period feature figures that range from female nudes and religious motifs to heads, dreamlike portraits, crowds, cathedrals, and scenes of social life. The exhibition highlights the most celebrated pieces from Saura’s career. Durán notes that the artist used images to keep chaos at bay, creating a duality: clean, schematic forms on one hand, and expansive, mass-filled canvases on the other where presence becomes diffuse into the whole composition.
Life and death
To understand Saura’s work, engaging with his writings enhances the experience. The Bancaja Foundation has acquired his writings alongside several artworks, and a Movistar+ video presents him discussing life and death in a piece titled Last Word. This interview, conducted at his home in Cuenca on July 16, 1998, a month before his death from leukemia at age 67, offers intimate insight into the artist’s reflections. The exhibit, Antonio Saura. Essential, remains on view at the Bancaja Foundation through January 18.