Oil on hardboard
Dominican Republic, 20th Century
José Vela Zanetti (1913-1999) – Spanish painter
Signed on lower right ‘Vela Zanetti’
Dimensions: 81.5 x 103 cm
Very good condition
Provenance: from the possessions of a German collector from Santo Domingo
A very touching, intimate portrait of a farmer, whose wise eyes may have seen a lot already; the highest hammer price for a painting of the artist on the international auction market is set at 80,000 euros

In this oil painting by José Vela Zanetti (1913-1999), we meet one of the favourite subject matters of the well-known Spanish painter: the farmer. Especially in his early works during the time in the Dominican Republic, he repeatedly returned to this theme, which reminded him with nostalgic thought of his earlier homeland Spain. The fact that Zanetti felt very closely connected to his origin, becomes very eminent in the almost poetically rendered rural portrait.



The dreamy look of the farmer’s face reaches far into the distance, and gives evidence of wisdom and profundity. Accordingly, every detail is rendered with dignity: the face is shaped by experience, the beret, the warming wool blanket and the Zanetti typical, powerful hands symbolize the most eminent indications of the peasant origin of the sitter.



The painting is signed on the lower right ‘Vela Zanetti’. The condition is very good with only minimal signs of age and wear. The wood panel is slightly damaged on the edges. The painting was cleaned in 2013 during a restoration, in the marginal areas minimally retouched, varnished and re-mounted on a verso wooden frame. The dimensions are 81.5 x 103 cm.



José Vela Zanetti (1913-1999)

José Vela Zanetti is one of the most meaningful Spanish artists of the 20th Century. A native of Burgos in northern Spain, Zanetti is also known as representative of ‘Muralismo’ – a special type of wall painting. He completed his art studies in Madrid with his teacher, José Ramon Zaragoza. An educational journey brought him to Italy in 1933. The Spanish Civil War, which broke out in 1936, was to mark him in a cruel manner, because his father was executed because of his socialist political views. In 1939, this event brought Zanetti into exile to the Dominican Republic. There, his great success as a painter and ‘muralist‘ started. He received over 100 commissions for wall paintings from public institutions such as libraries, government buildings and banks. Since 1945, Zanetti also worked as a lecturer at the National Art Academy in Santo Domingo, whose director he became in 1949. With a Guggenheim fellowship in 1951, he spent several years in New York City in the 1950s, where Zanetti's international career began. Also his most well-known work for the UN-headquarters: a wall painting with the title ‘The struggle of humanity for a long-lasting peace’ (La Lucha del Hombre por la Paz) was created in New York. Zanetti spent the end of his life in his birthplace Milagros in the province of Burgos. His later oeuvre shows a mixture of portraits, still lives, landscapes and religious themes.

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