The Art of Claudio Bravo

Writes Christopher Harrity:

Chilean-born (1936) Claudio Bravo, a pioneer of the realist revival in the 1970s, had his first success as a society painter in Franco’s Spain. He was able to do flattering, detailed portraits at a rapid pace. His paintings of paper-wrapped packages, perfectly rendered in a photo-realist style, were very popular as well.

His paintings of young man and athletes, however, stood out as his most heartfelt works.

Bravo was successful enough to buy a 19th-century villa in Tangier, Morocco, where he spent most of his life. In Tangier he painted primarily male models — workers in the house, their friends, the telephone repairman. “Islamic women will not pose for me,” he once explained. “That is one of the reasons why I recently bought apartments in Madrid and New York — to expand the range of types that I paint.”

The artist died at his home in Taroudant, Morocco, June 4, 2011. For more information go to ClaudioBravo.com

Related Off-site Link: ClaudioBravo.com

See also: The Art of Salem Beiruti | Ismael Álvarez | Stefano Junior | Saul Lyons | Alexis Vera | Mauna Nada | Ego Rodriguez | Liam Campbell | Richard Vyse | David Jester | Aaron Moth | Travis Chantar | Douglas Simonson | Guglielmo Plüschow | Vilela Valentin | Dante Cirquero | Nebojsa Zdravkovic | Brenden Sanborn | Wilhelm von Gloeden | Richard Haines | John MacConnell | Leo Rydell Jost | Jim Ferringer | Juliusz Lewandowski | Felix d'Eon | Herbert List | Joe Ziolkowski