Sin título (Untitled)

Nicolás de Lekuona was a painter and photographer who settled in Madrid from 1932 to 1935. This was a period when his style grew away from the Basque art tradition of the early 20^th century and moved towards the principles of the Vallecas School, and particularly towards the work of its two most important members, Benjamín Palencia and sculptor Alberto.
Among the artist’s varied iconographic repertory, Sin título (Untitled, 1935) belongs to the group of works rooted in Surrealism that illustrate the deep connection between the artist and the poetics of the Vallecas School. Lekuona introduced the earth-like materials so common in Benjamín Palencia’s works at the same time, and also gave a rough texture to the canvas by means of a procedure consisting of working on the oil paint to create grooves. This treatment was also used, from the beginning of the 1930s, by other followers of the Vallecas aesthetics such as Maruja Mallo, Rodríguez Luna and Palencia himself. The colour range in Sin título (covering the full spectrum of ochres, along with greenish browns and some greys) also places the painting among the most representative works of the Vallecas School.

Paloma Esteban Leal