In the Garden
Artist:
José Arpa y Perea
(Spanish, active Spain, Mexico, and the United States,1860 - 1952)
Date: ca. 1931
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
52 3/4 × 59 1/2 in. (134 × 151.1 cm)
Framed: 65 × 71 3/4 × 3 1/2 in. (165.1 × 182.2 × 8.9 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Betty Stieren Kelso Foundation
Object number: 2014.22
Signed: Signed lower left
Inscribed: Inscribed: Sevilla
Provenance: The artist; to an antique dealer in Sevelli, before ca. 1970; from whom purchased by a private collection, Seville by ca. 1970; purchased by Harry Halff, San Antonio, 2013.
Exhibition History: San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas, The Three Worlds of José Arpa y Perea: Spain, Mexico, and San Antonio, 18 April-28 June 2015
Label Text
This moving image of a mother and child was probably painted not long after the painter José Arpa permanently returned to his native Spain after a long residency in Mexico and San Antonio from the late 1890s until 1931. The terracotta ground, purple and yellow flowerbeds, and grass behind the female figure draw the viewer’s eye to the focal point of the painting. The brilliant light in the middle and background contrasts dramatically with the foreground shadow. Meanwhile, the soft and rich tonal gradations of the mother and child play off the cool blocks of color within the rest of the composition.
On view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
