Lot 26: ARMANDO REVERÓN (1889-1954)

ARMANDO REVERÓN (1889-1954) PAISAJE signed lower right oil on burlap 30 3/8 by 38 1/4 in. 77.2 by 97.2 cm Painted circa 1942.

Amb. Edward J. Sparks, Caracas
By descent to the previous owner
Private collection, Chile

For those who had the opportunity to visit Reverón's Castillete (his studio and house) on the Central coast before its total destruction by a mudslide in 1999, it was easy to imagine the artist walking out the main arched door. To the east he would have seen the declivitous Caraballeda point behind the grape tree bushes and before him, tall coconut trees and the ocean tide some 50 feet away. On his left he would have seen about two miles of Macuto's untamed surf. Beyond Macuto, his eye would first see Mulatos point, a few miles further west, and at a distance, Cabo Blanco, a calcareous white cape entering the waters and caressing the horizon line.
Reverón painted mostly nudes and landscapes. With a few exceptions, the nudes were executed in the intimacy of the studio while most of the landscapes he worked on from the early twenties to the late forties were painted in the vicinity of the house. Like Monet, Reverón was interested in the optical effect of light on trees, people and the topography. Not unlike Morandi´s obsessive studio rearrangements, Reverón returned invariably to the exploration of his surrounding landscape by painting at all times of day with a changing palette from a persistent catalogue of vantage points where he would install his rustic easel and canvasses for a session.
To paint this Paisaje, ca. 1942, Reverón faced east and worked on a difficult frontal view of a distant vegetation palisade. The painting reveals a faint luminosity indicating the presence of water and Caraballeda point on the left. The resulting work shows an unusual striped composition exhibiting a rich range of browns and greens with a faint presence of blue. One can sense that the surface of the canvas was nervously punched by a round brush; the white paint in the mid ground was etched over and the heads of a dozen palm trees were also scratched in to create an animated transition from the massive vegetation to the peaceful pale sky.

The painting Sotheby's has the pleasure to offer today is closely related to Paisaje con Uveros, 1942 from the Miguel Otero Silva bequest to the Galería de Arte Nacional in Caracas . It was until now an unknown composition by the artist. This landscape was gifted as a farewell present from the Venezuelan Government to His Excellency, the American Ambassador to Venezuela, Edward J. Sparks in 1961. Ambassador Sparks' daughter married a Chilean diplomat and thus the painting found its way to Chile. Its rediscovery is a felicitous event for Reverón followers.