Ángel Ries (1943) - El valle

Pictura Galeria presents this magnificent work of art by Ángel Ries, depicting a luminous rural landscape with golden fields, traditional houses, and abundant vegetation at the foot of a majestic mountain range, evoking serenity, rootedness, and harmony with nature. The painting stands out for its excellent technique and the high pictorial quality it conveys.

· Dimensions of the work: 50x65x2 cm.
· Oil on canvas hand-signed by the artist in the lower right corner.
· The piece is in good conservation condition.

The work comes from an exclusive private collection in Girona.

Important note: the photographs included are an integral part of the lot description. Digital representation in a tentative mockup; there may be differences from the actual article in color, scale, and details.

The work will be professionally packed by an IVEX expert (https://www.instagram.com/ivex.online/), using high-quality materials to guarantee its protection. The shipping price covers both the cost of professional packaging and the transport itself.
Shipping will be carried out by Correos or GLS with tracking. International shipping available.

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This painting presents a wide and luminous rural landscape dominated by the majestic presence of a mountain range rising in the distance. In the foreground stretch golden fields of strong chromatic intensity, while several traditional buildings are scattered at the foot of the mountains, surrounded by trees, shrubs, and abundant vegetation. The scene conveys the serenity of a clear day in the countryside and the deep harmony between nature, architecture, and rural life.

The foreground is occupied by an extensive surface of yellows, ochres, and golds that recalls a ripe cereal field or a sunlit meadow. This warm band fills the lower part of the composition and immediately establishes a welcoming atmosphere. The color variations, joined by the darker areas across the terrain, suggest undulations, furrows, and small irregularities typical of a landscape worked over time.

Intense yellows possess a particularly attractive luminosity and seem to gather all the strength of summer light. In some spots they approach the color of gold, while in others they mix with browns, muted greens, and deep shadows. This diversity gives movement to the field and prevents the surface from appearing uniform, guiding the eye slowly across the terrain until reaching the buildings in the middle zone.

In some areas the bright yellows nearly resemble gold, while elsewhere they blend with browns, subdued greens, and deep shadows. This variety lends dynamism to the field and prevents a flat surface, guiding the viewer’s gaze slowly toward the structures in the mid-ground.

At the lower edge appears a narrow strip of light vegetation, formed by small clusters of wildflowers and plants. The whites, blue-greens, and delicate yellow tones introduce a note of freshness against the intensity of the field. These flowers seem to grow spontaneously next to a path or a ditch and add an intimate dimension to the landscape, as if the viewer were observing the scene from a nearby trail.

A dark line runs horizontally across the composition, separating the field from the group of houses. This area may resemble a small wall, a damp strip of earth, a canal, or the natural boundary between different parcels. Its deep hue provides structure to the scene and creates a strong contrast with the luminous yellows around it, reinforcing the sense of depth.

On the left rises a rural building with a simple, sturdy appearance, partly hidden among the vegetation. Its yellow-green walls catch the light with particular intensity, making it one of the main focal points. The dark, inclined, and slightly irregular roof creates a beautiful contrast with the brightness of the façade and conveys the feeling of a dwelling integrated for many years into this environment.

The house is surrounded by shrubs, young trees, and freely growing plants. Some bare branches rise along the façade, while masses of various greens cover the lower area. The small white and yellow touches suggest flowers, sunlit leaves, or light reflections among the vegetation, enriching this corner and giving it a particularly lively and endearing character.

Its slightly separated position from the rest of the buildings adds narrative interest to the scene. It could be an old farmhouse, an agricultural shed, or a dwelling linked to nearby fields. Its presence invites imagining the daily life of those who inhabit or work in this place, marked by the rhythm of the seasons, field labor, and the constant proximity of the mountains.

To the right appears a small group of rural houses aligned along a strip of land lit by the sun. Their light façades, built with cream, beige, soft yellow, and brown tones, stand out against the darker vegetation behind them. The warm-toned roofs directly receive the light and seem to glow under the blue sky.

The differing heights and orientations of the buildings add variety to the architectural ensemble. Some façades show small, dark windows arranged simply, while others are partially hidden by neighboring structures. They do not form a dense urban core, but a calm, open hamlet perfectly integrated into the breadth of the landscape.

Between the house on the left and the houses on the right rise several tall, stylized trees. Their vertical canopies, formed by deep greens, blue-greens, and yellowish greens, introduce an ascending rhythm that visually links the buildings with the distant mountains. These trees act as a natural barrier and provide shade, coolness, and a sense of refuge to the small rural nucleus.

The vegetation in the mid-ground is built from a rich sequence of greens. There are olive, emerald, mossy greens, and yellow-green tones, accompanied by blue-gray and brown shadows. The lighter areas suggest shrubs and sunlit canopies, while the dark tones indicate dense, sheltered areas, creating a vegetative surface full of volume and depth.

Behind the houses rises a large hillside covered with forests and scrub. This green mass occupies a significant part of the composition and serves as a transition between the horizontality of the field and the majesty of the peaks. Its gentle slope guides the eye toward the rocky summits, while enveloping the buildings and making them seem small before the vast natural beauty.

Above the hillside is a zone of yellow-green color that seems to advance diagonally toward the mountain. This luminous stripe can evoke a meadow, a clearing among the vegetation, or a path that climbs toward the heights. Its course adds dynamism and stirs the desire to explore the landscape, as if there were a hidden path leading from the houses to the summits.

The mountain range forms the great backdrop and one of the most impressive elements of the work. Its irregular profiles unfold from left to right with peaks, crests, vertical faces, and rocky formations. Some mountains have soft, rounded slopes, while others rise with large sheer blocks, creating a varied and powerful silhouette against the sky.

The rocky zones combine grays, whites, muted greens, yellows, and delicate pinkish hues. The lighter tones highlight the directly illuminated surfaces, while deep gray and greenish tones define cracks, crevices, and shadowed walls. This alternation allows perceiving the rugged relief of the mountains and gives them a solid, ancient, monumental presence.

In the central part stands a narrower, sharper summit that breaks the continuity of the neighboring elevations. Its profile directs the gaze upward and becomes an important visual axis. To its right appear large masses of vertical forms, resembling natural walls, whose light-colored faces dominate the horizon with a serene and imposing strength.

The masses to the right have an especially craggy appearance. Their flat and irregular summits, separated by deep vertical cuts, resemble fortresses erected by nature itself. The small greenish nuances visible among the rocks suggest the presence of high-altitude vegetation able to grow on slopes and in the harshest cracks.

On the far left, the mountains seem to recede progressively and take on cooler, darker tones. This decrease in intensity helps create distance and expands the extent of the landscape beyond the visible limits. The mountain range is not perceived as an isolated formation, but as part of a broader territory that continues beyond the composition.

The sky occupies a large expanse and envelops the scene in a soft clarity. Light blues, slightly grayish, predominate, accompanied by white clouds with elongated and diffused shapes. Its breadth provides air and balance to the composition, preventing the mountains from feeling heavy and reinforcing the sense of a calm and bright day.

The clouds are horizontally extended and seem to drift slowly over the summits. They do not announce a storm nor disturb the serenity of the moment, but soften the light and add depth to the celestial space. Some areas almost merge with the blue, while others retain a white luminosity that converses with the light surfaces of the mountains.

The composition is organized through a balanced sequence of planes. In the foreground appear the golden fields; then the vegetation and rural buildings; further back, the hillside covered with trees; and finally, the mountains and the sky. This structure guides the eye from the warm closeness of the cultivated land to the cool, elevated horizon.

One of the most attractive aspects of the work is the contrast between warm and cool colors. The yellows and ochres of the field and the roofs convey light, prosperity, and proximity, while the greens of the vegetation and the blues of the sky bring calm and freshness. The grays and whites of the mountain balance both groups and give solidity to the landscape.

The absence of human figures intensifies the sense of silence and tranquility, although the houses and fields reveal a discreet human presence. The landscape is not shown as abandoned, but inhabited in a respectful and harmonious way. The constructions seem to be a natural part of the territory, not competing with the grandeur of the mountains or altering their character.

This relationship between the natural environment and rural life adds an emotional dimension to the work. The fields speak of labor and the passing of the seasons; the houses evoke home, shelter, and continuity; the trees represent growth and protection; and the mountains convey permanence, strength, and memory. All these elements come together to offer an idealized, yet close, vision of life in the countryside.

The scene appears to correspond to late summer or early autumn, when the fields take on intensely golden tones and the light envelops the façades with a special warmth. This possible seasonal transition lends the landscape a delicate sense of fullness. The land seems prepared for the harvest, while the vegetation still retains much of its vitality.

The landscape invites imagining the sounds and sensations of the place: the gentle movement of the plants in the breeze, the distant song of birds, the rustle of leaves, and the deep quiet coming from the mountains. The aroma of dry earth, ripe fields, and sun-warmed vegetation can also be evoked.

Beyond its descriptive character, the work can be interpreted as a celebration of rootedness and the relationship between people and their territory. The homes, small before the immensity of the mountains, convey humility and belonging. They represent a way of life tied to the landscape, where generations succeed each other while the peaks stand watch over the valley in silence.

The image possesses a serene and timeless beauty. It does not depict an extraordinary event, but the grandeur of an everyday environment contemplated with care and sensitivity. Precisely for that reason it is so evocative: it transforms a field, a few houses, and mountains into a scene capable of awakening memories of trips, places of origin, and landscapes associated with calm.

Overall, the work offers a luminous, warm, and deeply evocative vision of a rural valley protected by an imposing mountain range. The golden fields, traditional houses, abundant vegetation, green slopes, and rocky peaks form a balanced composition that conveys serenity, rootedness, and harmony. The contrast between the illuminated earth and the elevated mountains turns the landscape into a celebration of nature and simple life, inviting the viewer to imagine walking its paths and enjoying the peace of this beautiful setting.