FERNANDO ÁLVAREZ DE SOTOMAYOR (Ferrol, La Coruña, 1875 - Madrid, 1960)."Washerwoman".Oil on canvas.

FERNANDO ÁLVAREZ DE SOTOMAYOR (Ferrol, La Coruña, 1875 - Madrid, 1960).
"Washerwoman".
Oil on canvas.
With restorations.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 115 x 115 cm.
Image of costumbrista character that presents a woman on her knees, concentrated in her task, totally foreign to the spectator. Next to her we can observe a scene dominated by a still life which has a great presence in the scene, as it helps to determine the subject providing more veracity to the scene, as well as being an example of the mastery of the artist who portrays the different qualities of the elements in a masterly way through a loose and fast brushstroke. The author has created a vaporous atmosphere that envelops the whole. Thus creating an image that oscillates between the modernity of the city and the traditional, regional image provided by the clothing of the woman portrayed. This type of scene was common in the production of the Galician artist, who used his fellow countrymen as the undisputed protagonists of his work, thus raising the values of nationalism and exalting the cultural idiosyncrasies of Galicia, in many cases symbolised by a female figure, as can be seen in this work, in the painting La Mariñana, which belongs to the BBVA collection.
Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor studied at the Royal Augustinian College of El Escorial and then tried his hand at various careers before finally devoting himself to painting. He began his artistic training as a pupil of Manuel Domínguez, with whom he collaborated in the decoration of the staircase and an office of the Ministry of Agriculture in Madrid. In 1899 he obtained a grant to further his studies at the Spanish Academy in Rome, where he became thoroughly acquainted with the Renaissance and Baroque painting of the Florentine, Roman and Venetian schools. He subsequently travelled to Holland, where he discovered the painting of Frans Hals, whose strong colouring and impastoed brushstrokes would mark his later works. His triumphs began during his youth, and in 1904 he won the second medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, and the first two years later, in 1906. In 1908 he moved to Santiago de Chile to teach at the Chilean School of Fine Arts. He was director of that institution in 1911, and the so-called "Generation of 1913" or "Sotomayor Generation" grew up around him. During these years he continued to send works to official European exhibitions, being awarded a bronze medal in Liège and a gold medal in Munich in 1909. He was also awarded prizes at the International Exhibitions in Barcelona in 1907 and Buenos Aires in 1910, and was decorated at the National Exhibition in Madrid in 1912. He returned to Spain in 1918, after being appointed deputy director of the Prado Museum. Between 1921/22 and the advent of the Republic he held the post of director of that institution, regaining it after the Civil War. In 1922 he was appointed a member of the San Fernando Royal Academy and in 1929 he was given a separate room at the Barcelona International Exhibition. He was also chamber painter to King Alfonso XIII during the last years of his reign. After the war Sotomayor was awarded the Juan March Prize (1956), and after his death important tributes were paid to him, such as the retrospective exhibition held at the Palacio de Velázquez del Retiro on the occasion of the centenary of his birth. Sotomayor is currently represented in the Museo del Prado, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, and other leading Spanish, European and American museums.