ANTONIO GUANSÉ BREA (Tortosa, Tarragona, 1926 – Paris, 2008). "On the edge of the water", 1968. Acrylic on canvas. Signed and dated in the lower right corner. Signed, dated and titled on the verso.

ANTONIO GUANSÉ BREA (Tortosa, Tarragona, 1926 - Paris, 2008).
"Al bord de l'eau", 1968.
Art on canvas.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner. Signed, dated and titled on the back.
Measures: 130 x 97 cm; 132 x 99 cm (frame).
Painter, sculptor and engraver, Antonio Guansé developed most of his career in France. In 1945 he moved to La Cerdanya, where he devoted himself to painting landscapes and portraits. After three years there, he moved to Ibiza, where he remained until 1951, painting scenes of local customs, featuring fishermen and peasants. During this period he became interested in Romanesque art, and also in the work of Zurbarán, Rembrandt, Goya and Nonell. In 1953 he arrived in Paris thanks to a French government pension, and there he discovered Van Gogh and Picasso. The following year he settled permanently in the French capital and travelled around Europe to Holland, Germany and Scotland. In 1955 Guansé held his first exhibition in Paris, at Raymond Suillerot's gallery, where he regularly exhibited his work from then on. During these years he also produced his first lithographs and engravings. At the end of the 1950s, he arrived at the new figuration through the search for a new language, and in 1962 he was awarded the Prix de la Critique française (French Critics' Prize). Another milestone in his career was the retrospective exhibition devoted to him in 1971, which toured the Maisons de Culture in Bourges, Dole, Annemasse and Thonon-les-Bains. That same year he produced his first sculptures, ceramics and mural decorations. He is currently represented at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, among other important public and private collections.