Salvador VINIEGRA (1862-1915) Viniegra en Jerez... Lot 137

Salvador VINIEGRA (1862-1915) Viniegra en Jerez (Harvest in Jerez) Oil on canvas Signed lower left "S.Viniegra". 91 x 130 cm (unframed) Bibliography: - La revisita moderna, Año II, numero 51, February 19, 1898 - La correspondencia de España : diaro universal de noticias : Año XLIX Numero 14892 - November 11, 1898 - La correspondencia de España : diario universal de noticias : Año LII Numero 15766, April 5, 1901 - La ilustración artistica : periodico semanal de literatura, artes u ciencias : Tomo XX Año XX, Numero 1015 - 1901 juñio 10 -La ilustración nacional : revista literaria, científica y artistica : Tomo XVI Año XIX Number 6 - February 28, 1898 Salvador Viniegra began studying law before turning to painting, entering the Cadiz School of Fine Arts. In 1882, thanks to the intervention of José Villegas, he moved to Rome as a boarder of merit. He won several awards, including a first medal at the National Fine Arts Competition in Madrid in 1887 and 1901, and a medal in 1904. Born into a cultured family with a passion for music and literature, he published "Curiosidades de Roma" and composed several zarzuelas. He also held a number of important positions during his career, including deputy director of the Prado Museum from 1890 to 1898, and member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Cadiz. Viniegra is known for his genre scenes and depictions of daily life in his native Andalusia. Here, he depicts a harvest scene in Jerez de la Frontera, a town famous for its sherry production. Under a relentless Andalusian sun, their faces cut by the shadows of their hats, the grape-pickers bustle about with solemnity. The hacienda in the distance and the team of grape-pickers in the foreground, two white horizontal lines that immobilize the composition and freeze time, virtuously capture the heat of late summer in southern Spain. The detailed depiction of the costumes, fully in keeping with the costumbrista movement, provides us with an invaluable testimony to rural life in Andalusia, as well as a romantic vision of its people.