Urbano Lugrís González

URBANO LUGRÍS GONZÁLEZ (La Coruña, 1908-1973).
"San Telmo", 1968.
Ink on paper.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Certificate issued by the artist's son, Urbano Lugrís Vadillo, is attached.
Measurements: 45 x 25 cm; 61,5 x 40,5 cm (frame).
In this work the author presents us with an image of San Telmo, patron saint of sailors, holding a model of a ship and a candle in his hands. His habit is decorated with marine animals, such as shells, fish, seahorses and even starfish, following a language of geometric and synthetic forms. The author proposes a clear narrative aesthetically treated with a certain naïve and metaphysical touch, in which the saint rests his head delicately on the model of the ship, closing his eyes in a peaceful attitude, while showing the viewer a completely profile posture. The style and subject matter of the present work reflect Lugris's interest in seafaring themes.
Urbano Lugris began his artistic training under the influence of Nacho Viéitez, a man whose aim was to encourage the practice of painting among the new generations. He abandoned his studies as a commercial expert in La Coruña to move to Madrid in 1930, where he joined the Pedagogical Missions, with which he travelled around various Spanish cities designing costumes and sets for the La Barraca theatre. During this period he met Federico García Lorca and Rafael Alberti. During the Civil War he volunteered for the Republican army, leaving for the front in Asturias. After the end of the war in 1954 he founded the magazine Atlántida in La Coruña, with his friends Mariano Tudela and José Mª de Labra, in which he took an active part, writing articles and poetry, as well as numerous illustrations and designing the front cover. In 1965 he moved to Vigo where he died on 23 December 1973. In 1997 the largest exhibition dedicated to Urbano Lugrís, curated by Rosario Sarmiento and Antón Patiño, was held at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid and the Auditorio de Galicia in Santiago de Compostela. On the occasion of this exhibition, an important book-catalogue of the exhibition was published, as well as a facsimile of the magazine Atlántida. In 2007 the book by Antón Patiño Urbano Lugrís, "Viaje al corazón del océano" (Journey to the heart of the ocean) was published. Lugrís was an almost self-taught painter and his pictorial work reflects a predilection for seafaring themes, portrayed in a dreamlike and idealised atmosphere. His pictures are almost always painted on panel in small and medium formats. He was influenced by his godfather, the writer Francisco Tettamancy y Gastón, and by concepts of Italian metaphysical painting, especially those of Carrá and Chirico, and French surrealism, the paintings of Tanguy and Magritte. Some authors wanted to relate him to Dalí, based on the use of blue as the main colour in his paintings, but this detail is not taken from the Catalan, but from Platinir.