The Spanish artist Manuel Blesa (1945) experimented in various genres before he found the genre called “Bodegón” - the traditional still-life with pottery. Blesa’s career as an artist started as a portrait painter after which he had a period in which the landscape around the Spanish Teruel was his central theme. His painting style was already pure and straightforward and he was aware of the effect of light. He also portrayed old people whose faces were wizened by having worked so hard on the land. It was not a big step from his fascination of people’s histories to painting antique implements. The memories linked to everyday objects make this an inspiring subject. This is how Blesa came to the decision to paint still-lives, in which these objects and their history are given the main role. The pure simplicity that Blesa’s Bodegón characterises is outstanding. The idea that a history lies within every object is the reason Blesa paints ceramic pots, jugs, vases and plates. He ensures that each individual object is shown to its full advantage, whereby the effect of light plays an important part.
Education: autodidact
