Antoni Tàpies

ANTONI TÀPIES PUIG (Barcelona, 1923 - 2012).
Untitled, 1946.
Pencil on paper.
Attached certificate issued by the Comissió Tàpies in 2024.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 38 x 27.5 cm; 61 x 52 cm (frame).
This drawing by Antoni Tàpies, made in 1946, shows a young man seated with a rifle in his hands, executed in graphite on paper with a precise and fluid stroke. The central figure is dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, and his expression is serene yet reflective, evoking a sense of introspection. The attention to detail in the face and hands suggests the artist's interest in capturing both the humanity of the sitter and the symbolic charge of the object he holds.
The composition is simple, with the young man as the sole protagonist, and the atmosphere is intimate and restrained, probably reflecting the historical context of post-war Spain. The delicate but confident lines show Tàpies' technical mastery at this early stage of his career, before he moved into his characteristic abstract language.
Drawing was a fundamental part of Tàpies' work, as it laid the foundations for his later artistic evolution. In his early years, these figurative works show an intense observation of the world around him and an ability to convey deep emotions through simple means. Although Tàpies is best known for his foray into material art and abstraction, drawing remained an essential tool for exploring concepts and capturing ideas throughout his career.

Co-founder of "Dau al Set" in 1948, Tàpies began exhibiting at the Salones de Octubre in Barcelona, as well as at the Salón de los Once held in Madrid in 1949. After his first solo exhibition at the Layetanas Galleries, he travels to Paris in 1950, with a scholarship from the French Institute. In 1953 he had a solo exhibition at Martha Jackson's New York gallery. From then on, his exhibitions, both collective and individual, were held all over the world, in outstanding galleries and museums such as the Guggenheim in New York or the Modern Art Museum in Paris. Since the seventies, anthologies have been dedicated to him in Tokyo (1976), New York (1977 and 2005), Rome (1980), Amsterdam (1980), Madrid (1980), Venice (1982), Milan (1985), Vienna (1986) and Brussels (1986). Self-taught, Tàpies has created his own style within the avant-garde art of the 20th century, combining tradition and innovation within an abstract style but full of symbolism, giving great relevance to the material substrate of the work. It is worth mentioning the marked spiritual sense given by the artist to his work, where the material support transcends its state to signify a profound analysis of the human condition. Tàpies' work has been highly valued internationally, being exhibited in the most prestigious museums in the world. Throughout his career he has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Praemium Imperiale of Japan, the National Prize for Culture, the Grand Prize for Painting in France, the Wolf Foundation for the Arts (1981), the Gold Medal of the Generalitat de Catalunya (1983), the Prince of Asturias Prize for the Arts (1990), the Picasso Medal of Unesco (1993) and the Velázquez Prize for the Plastic Arts (2003). A great defender of Catalan culture, of which he is deeply imbued, Tàpies is a great admirer of the mystical writer Ramón Llull, as well as the Catalan Romanesque and Gaudí's architecture. At the same time, he appreciates Eastern art and philosophy, which, like his own work, blur the boundary between matter and spirit, between man and nature. Influenced by Buddhism, he shows in his paintings how pain, both physical and spiritual, is inherent to life. Antoni Tàpies is represented in major museums around the world, such as the foundation that bears his name in Barcelona, the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Guggenheim in Berlin, Bilbao and New York, the Fukoka Art Museum in Japan, the MoMA in New York and the Tate Gallery in London.