"abstraction." Oil On Canvas. Signed (lower Right). Martínez Novillo, Cirilo

“Abstraction”. Oil on canvas. Signed (lower right). MARTÍNEZ NOVILLO, Cirilo (Vallecas, Madrid, 1921 - Madrid, 2008).
Cirilo Martínez Novillo is a Madrid-based painter who began his training in the capital (School of Arts and Crafts, Libertarian Athenaeum of the People of Vallecas during the Civil War, Higher School of Painting, Sculpture and Engraving of the National Library), beginning during the conflict his first artistic works in the world of literature. At the end of the war, he was imprisoned for a year and then devoted himself entirely to painting. In the 1940s, he went from setting up his first studio and concentrating his work on figures and still lifes, with his first solo exhibition in 1942, to critical recognition at the end of the decade; The 1950s were very important for his pictorial training, he traveled around Spain and presented his work in several national and international exhibitions, in addition to being supervised by the "School of Madrid" (he presented numerous collective works with other members of the same, such as Álvaro Delgado, Luis García Ochoa, Agustín Redondela, etc.). A scholarship from the French Institute of Madrid allowed him to go to Paris for the first time in 1953, where he became familiar with the painting of masters such as Van Gogh, Picasso, Braque and Cézanne. In 1960 he obtained another scholarship from the Juan March Foundation, returned to Paris and settled there for several years, reflecting in his work an aesthetic transformation that brought his painting closer to a language closer to abstraction, also modifying his conception of light. He has received numerous awards (Painting Prize at the II Hispanic-American Biennial in 1953 in Havana, Cuba; in 1962 he was awarded the first medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts; in 1999 he was awarded the Gold Medal at the Arte-Santander Fair in recognition of his artistic career, etc.) and his work has been exhibited worldwide (Madrid, Paris, Zurich, New York, Barcelona, Santander, Oviedo, Zaragoza, etc.). His paintings are part of important private collections and leading institutions such as the Banco Santander Collection, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Madrid, the Albacete Museum, the Mapfre Foundation, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Fine Arts Museums of Bilbao and Oviedo, the Telefónica Collection, the AENA Foundation, etc. -
Dimensions: 50 x 61 cm; 69 x 79.5 cm (marco)