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Lot Essay
Etorisa is undoubtedly one of the finest works produced by master abstractionist Fernando Zóbel within his most acclaimed sequence of works: the Saetas series of the late 1950s. Painted at the pinnacle of Saetas, Etorisa exemplifies everything Zóbel sought to achieve within his celebrated 'syringe-paintings'. It displays finely controlled, calligraphic lines suspended against a pure space, almost weightless in depth and scale yet imbued with a sense of subtle dynamic movement against the fixity of a pristine white canvas.
SAETAS: EMOTION AND IMPROVISATION
In Spain, where the Philippine-born Zóbel spent the later half of his life, "Saetas" are a form of flamenco song meant to evoke deep emotion within the singer and his audience. Dramatic and tragic by nature, the songs are short and usually improvised. The name, directly translated, means "arrow", a fitting sobriquet for the swift, linear nature of Zóbel's compositions. When interviewed, Zóbel observed that he selected the name Saetas in order to convey something improvised, but also deeply felt, saying: "The underlying theme is movement expressed metaphorically. Movement stated in terms of line. The movement of leaves, blades of grass, of birds, of people; movement observed, sensed, never imitated but - I hope - clearly translated"
"I gradually came to the conclusion that my use of color was becoming meaningless. Its function appeared to be merely decorative. Any two colors, as long as they produced a certain vibration, seemed to work. I believe that in art things are either necessary or superfluous. At that point I started using less and less color till finally I ended up using only black lines against a white background."
When developing Saetas, Zóbel initially sought to create an aesthetic similar to Oriental calligraphy but rendered in oil paint instead of ink. He encountered the dilemma of how to create a line which could be very long if necessary, yet precise and controllable. Filling a glass syringe with oil paint, Zobel discovered an instrument which was sensitive, flexible, and capable of producing the exact qualities he desired. The earliest Saetas works show Zobel's preoccupation with this new method, featuring strong, criss-crossing lines, layered repeatedly to experiment with different balances of texture, form, and colors. However he was not entirely satisfied with the result, and sought to move away from static abstraction into gestural works which retained a sense of capricious energy. By the time Etorisa was composed, in June 1959, Zóbel had refined his technique into an elegant symphony of grace and precision. He first laid down fine lines to create the visual architecture; then used a dry brush to sweep across the still-wet paint in order to change the tempo: rendering swift motion, volume, and texture. One of the finest achievements of Etorisa is its depiction in entirely black and white. Zóbel's decision to dispense with strong color was a crucial step. Purely chiaroscuro examples within the Saetas series are rare; the two best known and most accomplished examples are Saetas 253, now in the Fundacíon Juan March collection, a powerful, heavier painting which still bears elements of the earlier style; and Etorisa, within which Zóbel accomplished the exceedingly fine composition that he craved.
EXPRESSING AN ORIENTAL PASSION
"I learn to read (not speak) and write Chinese. I love this; a new world, a new way of expressing thought, so different that it affects the very quality of thought. An ideal exercise for the painter-if you can control a Chinese brush, surely you can control anything... Do send me some postcards of Oriental things."
- Zóbel in a letter to his friend Paul Haldeman
A defining feature of Fernando Zóbel's works, particularly from the 1950s and 60s, was his passion for Oriental culture, especially Chinese art. In 1952 - 1957, when Zóbel still resided in Asia, he enthusiastically collected calligraphy and antique porcelain, and studied archaeology in order to excavate the grounds of his home in Calatagan, Philippines, which had been built over an ancient Chinese maritime cemetery and contained deposits of trade ceramics. Within Etorisa, the painting style is spontaneous and almost organic; a reminder of the 'improvised' nature of Saetas. The black lines dissect the pure white canvas with a linear running motion reminiscent of the 'cursive script' of Chinese literati painters. However the overall execution reveals a refined sense of architectural planning. All its elements are in complete harmony: the spatial allocation of black paint against white canvas; the careful calculation of weight and balance; the finely honed swift blurring which interrupts the clarity of line. Above all, the assurance of the artist's hand behind the brush which, like Chinese calligraphers, was able to lay down the entire composition in one ceaseless flow. Etorisa reveals a beautiful synchrony between expression and technical achievement; demonstrating the years of aesthetic evolution and research by Zóbel toward this eventual masterpiece.
SAETAS: EMOTION AND IMPROVISATION
In Spain, where the Philippine-born Zóbel spent the later half of his life, "Saetas" are a form of flamenco song meant to evoke deep emotion within the singer and his audience. Dramatic and tragic by nature, the songs are short and usually improvised. The name, directly translated, means "arrow", a fitting sobriquet for the swift, linear nature of Zóbel's compositions. When interviewed, Zóbel observed that he selected the name Saetas in order to convey something improvised, but also deeply felt, saying: "The underlying theme is movement expressed metaphorically. Movement stated in terms of line. The movement of leaves, blades of grass, of birds, of people; movement observed, sensed, never imitated but - I hope - clearly translated"
"I gradually came to the conclusion that my use of color was becoming meaningless. Its function appeared to be merely decorative. Any two colors, as long as they produced a certain vibration, seemed to work. I believe that in art things are either necessary or superfluous. At that point I started using less and less color till finally I ended up using only black lines against a white background."
When developing Saetas, Zóbel initially sought to create an aesthetic similar to Oriental calligraphy but rendered in oil paint instead of ink. He encountered the dilemma of how to create a line which could be very long if necessary, yet precise and controllable. Filling a glass syringe with oil paint, Zobel discovered an instrument which was sensitive, flexible, and capable of producing the exact qualities he desired. The earliest Saetas works show Zobel's preoccupation with this new method, featuring strong, criss-crossing lines, layered repeatedly to experiment with different balances of texture, form, and colors. However he was not entirely satisfied with the result, and sought to move away from static abstraction into gestural works which retained a sense of capricious energy. By the time Etorisa was composed, in June 1959, Zóbel had refined his technique into an elegant symphony of grace and precision. He first laid down fine lines to create the visual architecture; then used a dry brush to sweep across the still-wet paint in order to change the tempo: rendering swift motion, volume, and texture. One of the finest achievements of Etorisa is its depiction in entirely black and white. Zóbel's decision to dispense with strong color was a crucial step. Purely chiaroscuro examples within the Saetas series are rare; the two best known and most accomplished examples are Saetas 253, now in the Fundacíon Juan March collection, a powerful, heavier painting which still bears elements of the earlier style; and Etorisa, within which Zóbel accomplished the exceedingly fine composition that he craved.
EXPRESSING AN ORIENTAL PASSION
"I learn to read (not speak) and write Chinese. I love this; a new world, a new way of expressing thought, so different that it affects the very quality of thought. An ideal exercise for the painter-if you can control a Chinese brush, surely you can control anything... Do send me some postcards of Oriental things."
- Zóbel in a letter to his friend Paul Haldeman
A defining feature of Fernando Zóbel's works, particularly from the 1950s and 60s, was his passion for Oriental culture, especially Chinese art. In 1952 - 1957, when Zóbel still resided in Asia, he enthusiastically collected calligraphy and antique porcelain, and studied archaeology in order to excavate the grounds of his home in Calatagan, Philippines, which had been built over an ancient Chinese maritime cemetery and contained deposits of trade ceramics. Within Etorisa, the painting style is spontaneous and almost organic; a reminder of the 'improvised' nature of Saetas. The black lines dissect the pure white canvas with a linear running motion reminiscent of the 'cursive script' of Chinese literati painters. However the overall execution reveals a refined sense of architectural planning. All its elements are in complete harmony: the spatial allocation of black paint against white canvas; the careful calculation of weight and balance; the finely honed swift blurring which interrupts the clarity of line. Above all, the assurance of the artist's hand behind the brush which, like Chinese calligraphers, was able to lay down the entire composition in one ceaseless flow. Etorisa reveals a beautiful synchrony between expression and technical achievement; demonstrating the years of aesthetic evolution and research by Zóbel toward this eventual masterpiece.