Light is the leitmotiv throughout the oeuvre of the still-life artist Antonio Fuertes (1970). This Spanish artist often presents his canvases like a play in a theatre, where the lighting is the director that brings the canvases to life. At the basis of his passion for fruit are the memories of his father’s orchard in Andalusia. By using a wide format for his canvases, which he frequently does, and the way in which the individual pieces of fruit are composed Fuertes suggests rhythm and motion. The technique he employs is in line with the Old Masters of the Golden Age, such as Rembrandt, Velázquez and Ribera. By painting many layers over each other – at least 15 – the work grows gradually, whereby the contrast between light and dark always remains the starting point. The artist uses only black and white for the undermost layer; he just adds colour during the last phase of his work. The artist sometimes chooses to keep the painting tonal and the sensitive result is a still-life in black, white and the various gradations of grey in-between. The many transparent layers and the relief in the top coat of paint ensure the depth that so characterizes the still-lives of Antonio Fuertes.
Education: Facultad de Bellas Artes, Universidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
