Travel to Europe: Madrid, Barcelona, Europeanstreets: The beauty of Telluric Art

The beauty of Telluric Art

Have you ever heard of the “telluric” concept? Do you think it is another strange buzz word in the world of art? No, telluric art is not a new or mysterious concept; in fact, it is the most basic description that can be given to an artistic creation: it refers to the earth, the origins and to primitivism. Pablo Picasso was the most passionate artist regarding African art, and many of his artist friends had statues or primitive masks in their workshops.

They represent the origin, the simplicity, the spirit and the natural force, which are some characteristics of the European artistic vanguards. Now you can visit the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid where there is a wide Telluric Art selection from 1930 to 1936. While Europe was plunged into two world wars and traumatized by the atrocities, artists were looking for the humanity in the natural things: the Earth.

Alberto Sánchez, Benjamín Palencia, Julio González, Oscar Domínguez and Maruja Mallo are some of the artists that better represent this kind of art. Although their names do not sound as much like those of Picasso, Dalí and Miró, they were colleagues and they travelled to Paris when the city was the core of the European vanguards. There was developed the Surrealism, and the Spanish painter Oscar Domínguez is one of its major exponents. In his first creations, we can see the black sands of Tenerife and later he invented the painting technique of Decalcomania: a process that involves applying black gouache on the paper, which is then placed on the top of another sheet on which someone exerts a light pressure. They are separated before they dry and you get a similar picture.

The sculptors such as Alberto Sánchez and Julio González (a Catalan specialized in iron sculptures) are noted for their simple beauty and wild, the geometry of the volume, the strength of the expression, the dynamic forms and the severity that they can transmit. Their statues seem to be the incarnation of weight and lightness, two essential human states.

When it comes to painting, you have surely heard to talk about Benjamin Palencia or one of the few surrealist women artists, Maruja Mallo. She focused on very characteristic female portraits, pioneers of American pop art, and she had a cosmic period during which dedicated to the recreation of nature in her series of Marinas. Pottery was also one of her exploration avenues, like the genius Picasso. Palencia was fascinated by the Castilian landscapes, the dreamlike colours, Fauvism and Cubism.

In the other rooms of the Reina Sofia Museum, you will find the surreal and abstract creations, of the Spanish artists and the 27th Generation or the Noucentisme. Here you will see how much telluric art has been represented in twentieth century vanguards. Joan Miró, the Catalan artist was perhaps the most telluric artist with his infinite blue, his concern for detail and his strong symbolism of the coloured spots. The Animals, the nature and the cosmic world were his favourite subjects.

Come to Madrid to immerse yourself in the corridors of human nature and at night, discover the wilder side of the capital with the famous Madrid nightlife. To enjoy the best amenities, rent apartments in Madrid.