Rafael Zabaleta Fuentes (1907-1960), Circulo de - Burros

Circle of Rafael Zabaleta (1907–1960)

Group of donkeys in a Castilian landscape — c. 1950

Authorship / attribution: Circle of Rafael Zabaleta
Title: Group of donkeys in a Castilian landscape
Technique: oil on burlap / canvas with a thick weave
Chronology: c. 1950
School: Spanish
Dimensions of the work: 54 × 65 cm
Overall dimensions with frame: 76 × 87 cm
Signature: not visible
Provenance: private Spanish collection

Description

An interesting oil on burlap from the mid-20th century, stylistically attributable to the circle of Rafael Zabaleta (1907–1960) due to its expressive treatment of the rural landscape, its intense chromatic construction, and the deliberate simplification of forms.

The composition presents four donkeys halted in an open landscape. The animals, individualized through different color ranges — brown, blue, bluish-white and black — take on a nearly monumental presence and constitute the true visual axis of the work.

The painter deliberately abandons a strictly naturalistic representation. The landscape is built through broad horizontal bands of color, where intense yellows, deep blues, greens, pinks and earth tones alternate to create a structure almost autonomous from observed reality.

One of the main attractions of the painting lies in its extraordinary materiality. The oil appears applied with abundant impasto, especially visible in the ground, the clouds, and certain zones of the animals. The surface preserves brushstrokes, spatula marks, and dragging of matter, making the very thickness of the paint a fundamental part of the expression.

The sky is treated with a succession of blues and whites that are highly textured, while the shadows on the ground are resolved with intense blues and violets, consciously distancing themselves from natural color.

Affinity with Rafael Zabaleta and postwar Spanish painting

The work shows important affinities with certain languages developed by Rafael Zabaleta during the 1950s, especially in his representation of the rural world, animals, formal simplification, and the use of intense colors bounded by dark outlines.

During his mature period, Zabaleta turned peasants, animals, and landscapes into chromatic structures with great expressive force, gradually moving away from naturalistic description to develop a painting close to Fauvism and Expressionism.

The presence of donkeys and domestic animals is also a documented theme in his late-1950s production.

This work shares that visual universe: monumental rural fauna, color freed from naturalistic representation, landscape built by color bands, and a strong presence of the painting’s materiality.

Connections can also be seen with the milieu of renewal in the Castilian landscape developed by Benjamín Palencia, the Second Vallecas School, and certain artists of the Madrid School, contexts in which the work should be understood.

Cataloging as “Circle of Rafael Zabaleta” should be considered a stylistic proposal. There is currently no signature, certificate, documentary provenance, or inclusion in a catalog raisonné that would allow a direct attribution to the artist.

Artistic value

Beyond attribution, the work possesses a strong personality.

The four animals function almost as a rhythmic sequence of forms and colors, while the landscape loses depth to become a succession of horizontal planes.

The apparent naïveté of the drawing contrasts with a highly conscious chromatic construction. The animals cease to be merely anecdotal elements of the landscape and become almost totemic figures linked to the rural world, work, resilience, and the austerity of the territory.

Condition

Overall condition in keeping with its age and the extremely material nature of the work.

Small losses, abrasions, and occasional surface alterations are observed, especially in some areas of greater impasto. The back has perimeter reinforcements and old interventions related to mounting.

Carefully review all detail photographs, which form an integral part of the description.

The frame is included as a gift, and will not be subject to claim.

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