CERCLE 5

21 ANTONIO LÓPEZ «I might seem peaceable, but I'm not» A t the age of 81, the coveted Manchego artist has not the slightest intention of retiring. Quite the opposite, it anguishes him to not have more time to dedicate to the ever-so-meticulous process of creating his paintings, and he works on dozens of works simultaneously. Currently he is engaged in views of Bilbao from the Iberdrola Tower and others of Seville, toward the Guadalquivir River... The North and South of Spain, with its amazing and wildly different geographies, all of them so magical: ‘Bilbao is a winter view, while Seville is summer one’ —he says. An affable man, with a kindly look and humble apparel, it is surprising that a man with such good-natured behaviour can handle his environment —including media—with such ease. I have brought you something from Lleida that I know that you love, a xolís , a sausage typical of the Catalan pre-Pyrenees area. In addition to showing off his great craft, he is a man of exquisite taste and good habits. Son of well-off farmworkers and with a great skill in drawing, he was encouraged by his uncle, a magnificent costumbrist painter, to devote himself to painting. This led to him moving to Madrid at the age of thirteen to study at the San Fernando Fine Arts School, where he remained until 1955 and where he met an interesting group of artists later known as the Madrid School of Realism. Married to the painter María Moreno in 1961, to whom he has always been devoted, he is father to two daughters. Live slowly but surely, and paints very slowly, thoughtfully, searching and digging for an essence, a nuance, looking for and scrutinizing the perfect moment. He doesn’t consider the work finished until you believes he has reached the limit of his abilities. For him, a good relationship with a picture is what encourages him to continue to touch it up for years and years, although it is not always possible. ‘It’s about improving it, not making it worse’ —says Antonio. So, if the relationship between the two is not good, it’s better to terminate it. ‘There is something wonderful in getting the tone, relating colours harmoniously with each other and, with all that creating a form of emotion’. Antonio López García antonio lópez travelled to the catalan capital invited by the reial cercle artístic de barcelona-institut barcelonès d’art to receive the institution’s gold medal, the highest award that the emblematic organisation grants to the most important figures in the world of art and culture in general. du- ring his visit, he displayed his extraordinary openness, simplicity and cour- tesy by visiting the workshops and talking with the rcab’s partners and students on the progress of their work.