The generosity of an artist, being possibly the best painter of the world

I like Eduardo Naranjo. I always thought, though I understand that may sound absurd to some, which technically is the best painter in the world, and that its cadres, especially the era from 1978 to 1985 marked a turning point in the Spanish realist painting.

Actually, what Eduardo exceptional is that you like it or not you like art, you like it or not you like the painting, if you pass by an exhibit in which there is a work you going to stop yours to admire. If you do not like the painting and not know the history of Tàpies, Chillida, Valdes, or possibly Barceló Spare his works, but if you pararás front of the boxes Naranjo.

Already been many years collecting his work when I met him and invited me to his house for the first time. I remember that I took the afternoon off and went to his house, which is close to mine. We spent a fun afternoon chatting in the study annexed to his beach house in La Moraleja, and he was half in shock at seeing a person of my age, would then have 25 or 26 years-follow so closely and knew her well work, and were interested in moving with him that afternoon of Friday I keep those hours, a good memory, we were able to see and speak of many things all afternoon, showed me his studio, home, memories, pictures, and I could see him paint. A real luxury.

He was painting a large-format box, a huge swell, with painting and with the field, the table would have about 120 centimeters wide. Eduardo is so thorough, that works not only of that size are hard to come by but are both working for him that can only produce maybe 4 or 5 works of this caliber a year. I was interested in knowing who was going to paint in that box, only sketch a huge blue sea and I explained his idea in detail, and I indicated that at least would take even more than a month to finish it. One sometimes has a hunch, and from that day, even in the medium-paint it, a bit surreal situation, we agreed that the painting out of his studio a month later only to come to my house. And so it was, and since then, and here is what I enjoy on a daily basis, jointly agreed to call it "The Sea and Other Universes."

A year later, on my original box, Eduardo called me and made some photos to make some lithographs, something that made me really excited. Today, even some sold in galleries these reproductions of the work.

The first time I came into the living room of her house I saw a picture he had seen a thousand times reproduced in books, but that he had never seen in person 'Musas with reverie. " This is an enormous book (200 × 300cm!), In which he worked more than 2 years!, Possibly the most representative picture of his career. Never before had a chart hit me so much in photography is almost impossible to appreciate the depth and quality of this work, it is very difficult to reproduce the detail of a painting of 3 meters wide by 2 high.

I read Monica Kreibohm in ArteSpain days ago that Edward has decided to take down your house and donate your table more representative to the most important museum of contemporary art in Spain, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (MNCARS). It is a gesture that not only immortalize his work, but it will make everyone can enjoy it for centuries. On that table, I know that a number of good ink collectors, one of Elos a person close to me, have come to offer Eduardo over a million Euros, even a major employer in Zurich in Basel to give a blank check for that would put the figure, and Eduardo, not only has not sold, not only what has dropped his living room (I stress that are 3 feet wide by 2 high! But it has given us all.

Tags: Art, Eduardo Naranjo, MNCARS, painting, Realism