MANUEL BENEDITO VIVES

(1875 / 1963)

MANUEL BENEDITO VIVES Valencia (1875) / Madrid (1963) "Self-portrait with The Return of Work", 1905

Oil on canvas. Signed and dated in the lower left corner. This is one of the most important and special self-portraits of the painter Manuel Benedito. Acquired directly from the artist at the time of its creation, the work has remained hidden for almost 120 years in the same collection, which is why it does not appear in any of the artist's catalogs nor has it been present in any exhibition. Remaining in the same private collection for so long and, practically, in the same place, has allowed it to reach us in a perfect state of conservation, with the plasticity and color of its brushstrokes intact, as if it had just come out of its studio. It also maintains its original frame, chosen, as was usual in his paintings, by Benedito himself. Furthermore, it is a very particular self-portrait of the painter, as he appears dressed in his white Panama hat, in his studio, with the work “Back to Work” resting on an easel. This painting was made in Belgium, between 1902 and 1904, and it became one of his most celebrated works and an example of the artist's most important stage, in which his painting acquired a special luminosity, color and a rich pasted Benedito himself must have been proud of this work, so he decided to include it in this composition, playing in this way with the typical resource of the painting within the painting and creating, possibly, the best self-portrait of him. The painter must have done the work using a mirror, since “The Return of Work” appears inverted with respect to the original. For all this, it is one of the most important creations of the painter to emerge in recent years, a great addition to his catalog and above all the confirmation of the great technical and intellectual mastery of Manuel Benedito, whose importance perhaps has not been valued. right on. We thank the Manuel Benedito Foundation for its help in cataloging this work. Measurements: 60 x 80 cm.