Ángel Ries (1943) - El valle

Pictura Galeria presents this magnificent artwork belonging to Ángel Ries, which portrays 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 transmits.

· Dimensions of the work: 50x65x2 cm.
· Oil on canvas hand-signed by the artist in the lower right corner.
· The piece is in good 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 mockup representation; there may be differences with the real 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 ensure its protection. The shipping price covers both the professional packing cost and the transport itself.
Shipping will be done by Correos or GLS with tracking. International shipping available.

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This painting presents a broad and luminous rural landscape dominated by the majestic presence of a mountain range that rises in the distance. In the foreground stretch golden fields with intense color, while several traditional buildings appear 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 reminiscent of a mature cereal field or a meadow illuminated by the sun. This warm strip fills the lower part of the composition and establishes a welcoming atmosphere from the very first moment. The color variations, joined by the darker areas that cross the terrain, suggest undulations, furrows and small irregularities typical of a landscape worked over time.

The intense yellows have a particularly attractive luminosity and seem to gather all the strength of the summer light. In some points they approach the color of gold, while in others they blend 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 it reaches the buildings located in the middle zone.

At the lower edge there is a narrow strip of light vegetation, formed by small groups of flowers and wild plants. The whites, bluish-greens and delicate yellowish hues introduce a note of freshness against the intensity of the field. These flowers seem to grow spontaneously beside a path or a ditch and add an intimate dimension to the landscape, as if the viewer were looking at the scene from a nearby trail.

A dark line crosses horizontally the composition and separates the field from the set of houses. This area may resemble a small wall, a strip of damp earth, a canal or the natural boundary between parcels. Its deep tone provides structure to the scene and creates a strong contrast with the luminous yellows surrounding it, reinforcing the sense of depth.

On the left side rises a rural building of simple and sturdy appearance, partially hidden among the vegetation. Its yellow-green walls receive the light with special intensity, making it one of the main points of focus. The dark, sloping roof establishes a beautiful contrast with the brightness of the facade and conveys the feeling of a dwelling integrated for many years in this environment.

The house is surrounded by shrubs, young trees and freely growing plants. Some bare branches rise beside the facade, while masses of various greens cover the lower area. Small white and yellow touches suggest flowers, illuminated 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 other buildings adds narrative interest to the scene. It could be an old farmhouse, a 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.

Towards the right there appears a small group of rural houses aligned along a strip of illuminated land. Their clear facades, built with cream, beige, soft yellow and brown tones, stand out against the darker vegetation that extends behind them. The warm-toned roofs directly receive light and seem to gleam under the blue sky.

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

Among the left house and the right-side houses rise several tall, stylized trees. Their vertical crowns, formed by deep greens, bluish and yellowish, introduce an ascending rhythm that visually links the buildings with the mountains in the background. These trees act as a natural barrier, providing shade, coolness and a sense of refuge to the small rural nucleus.

The intermediate vegetation is built through a rich succession of greens. There appear olive, emerald, mossy green and yellow-green tones, accompanied by blueish and brown shadows. The lighter areas suggest shrubs and sunlit canopies, while the darker tones indicate lush and sheltered areas, creating a vegetal surface with volume and depth.

Behind the houses rises a large slope covered with forests and scrublands. This green mass occupies a significant part of the composition and serves as a transition between the horizontality of the field and the monumental mountains. Its gentle slope guides the gaze toward the rocky peaks, while enveloping the buildings and making them seem small in the face of natural vastness.

Above the slope stands a zone of yellowish-green color that seems to advance diagonally toward the mountain. This bright strip may evoke a meadow, a clearing among the vegetation or a path that climbs toward the heights. Its course adds dynamism and awakens the desire to explore the landscape, as if there were a hidden path capable of leading from the houses to the peaks.

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

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

In the central part a narrower and more pointed summit stands out, breaking the continuity of the neighboring elevations. Its profile directs the gaze upward and becomes an important visual axis. To its right appear large masses with vertical forms, resembling natural fortresses, whose light walls dominate the horizon with a serene and imposing force.

The masses on the right have a particularly rugged appearance. Their flat and irregular tops, separated by deep vertical cuts, recall fortresses raised by nature itself. The small greenish nuances visible among the rocks suggest the presence of vegetation adapted to high altitudes, capable of growing on slopes and in crevices.

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

The sky occupies a broad expanse and envelops the scene in a soft clarity. The blues are light and slightly grayish, accompanied by white clouds with elongated and diffused shapes. Its breadth provides air and balance to the composition, avoiding a heavy presence of the mountains and reinforcing the sense of a calm and bright day.

The clouds appear extended horizontally and seem to move slowly over the peaks. They do not herald a storm nor alter the serenity of the moment, but soften the light and add depth to the celestial space. Some areas almost blend with the blue, while others retain a white luminosity that dialogizes with the light surfaces of the mountains.

The composition is organized through a balanced succession of planes. In the foreground appear the golden fields; then the vegetation and rural houses; further back, the slopes covered with trees; and finally the mountains and the sky. This structure guides the gaze from the warm proximity of the cultivated earth to the vast, cool, elevated horizon.

One of the most appealing 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 closeness, while the greens of the vegetation and the blues of the sky impart calm and freshness. The grays and whites of the mountains balance both groups and give solidity to the landscape.

The absence of human figures intensifies the sense of silence and calm, although the houses and fields reveal a discreet human presence. The landscape does not appear 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 nor altering their character.

This relationship between the natural environment and rural life brings an emotional dimension to the work. The fields speak of work and the passage of seasons; the houses evoke home, refuge 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 seems to correspond to late summer or early autumn, when the fields acquire intensely golden tones and the light envelops the façades with a special warmth. This possible seasonal transition adds a delicate sense of fullness to the landscape. The land seems prepared for 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 plants under the breeze, the distant song of birds, the rustle of leaves and the deep quiet coming from the mountains. It can also evoke the scent of dry earth, ripe fields and vegetation warmed by the sun.

Beyond its descriptive character, the work can be interpreted as a celebration of rootedness and the relationship between people and their territory. The houses, small before the vastness 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 remain silently watching over the valley.

The image possesses a serene and timeless beauty. It does not depict an extraordinary event, but the grandeur of an everyday environment contemplated with attention and sensitivity. Precisely for this reason it is so evocative: it transforms a field, some 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 view of a rural valley protected by an imposing mountain chain. 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 along its paths and enjoying the peace of this beautiful setting.