The Spanish artist, Baltasar Lobo, is widely celebrated for his interpretations of the female form. In bronze and marble, Lobo reduced the figure into its essence, testing the boundaries between...
The Spanish artist, Baltasar Lobo, is widely celebrated for his interpretations of the female form. In bronze and marble, Lobo reduced the figure into its essence, testing the boundaries between figuration and abstraction.
Lobo received informal training in Valladolid, passed briefly through the Academia de Bellas Artes in Madrid and illustrated libertarian magazines in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War. Under Franco’s Fascism, the artist was forced into exile arriving in Paris in 1939.
Undocumented and depleted of resources, Lobo counted on his friendship with Picasso, who in turn introduced him to Giacometti, Braque and other artists in his circle. But, it was Henri Laurens who really took him under his wing.
Lobo’s proximity to the lively creative environment of the School of Paris propelled the development of his distinctive personal style. Between 1965 and 1980 Lobo was particularly prolific, exploring the female form in an increasingly minimal language.
Lobo’s sculptures of the human torso such as ‘Torse penché dans l’espace’ are particularly strong examples of his mastery of form. He was drawn to the Greco-Roman practice of representing the nature of the figure, a practice which had been explored and updated by Rodin. Through his remarkable skill in carving, the artist manages to promote the dynamism and movement of the body in even in the absence of facial features or expressive gestures.
During his life, Lobo was exhibited as a ‘Master of Contemporary Art’ (1945) alongside Bonnard, Modigliani, Matisse, Braque, Picasso, and Laurens at Galerie Vendôme, Paris and went on to be awarded the Spanish National Prize for Sculpture in 1984. His prised position in the history of modern sculpture lives on into the present day, with his work featuring in major international collections including the Centro d'Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Tokyo National Museum; Museum of Modern Art, Luxembourg; National Gallery, Prague; State Gallery, Stuttgart and Fine Arts Museum, Bilbao.