Tres Marias Series
signed and dated 1985 (lower right)
oil on canvas
28" x 36" (76 cm x 91 cm)

Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mr. Christian M. Aguilarconfirming the authenticity of this lot




Federico Aguilar Alcuaz’s 1985 Tres Marias Series is one in the long line of works from his Tres Marias series. Starting from the 1970s, Alcuaz built on what critic Alice Guillermo in her 2007 critique Sightings described as a genre of “beautiful, long-gowned women with a 19th-century air engaged in a variety of domestic activities.” However, Tres Marias Series most notably bares these women down, both figuratively and literally. In the same Guillermo critique, she had taken specific notice of Alcuaz’s nudes. “One can venture to say that some of the most elegant nudes in painting come from Alcuaz’s brush,” she writes. “He abides by the basic classical disciplines but shuns theatrical gesture and dramatic color, and situates them in a more familiar contemporary context.” Tres Marias Series marries Alcuaz’s famed themes by depicting the women, usually in beautiful elegant gowns, in various states of undress. These women are lounging around a brightly lit room with a window showing a panoramic view of the city. They are relaxed with their guards down, an implicit show of trust for each other. There is a suppleness and ease to their bodies, the light bouncing off bare skin with such an intense luminosity. The vibrancy of the piece with the occasional bursts of colors makes the work all the more cohesive. Elegant and vivacious, Tres Marias Series is a testament to Alcuaz’s spontaneity, humor, and wit and his unfailing commitment to his artistic vision. (Hannah Valiente)