Antonio Saura

El criticón

(SOLD OUT EDITION)

An unrepeatable edition brings us closer to a passionate and intimate Saura and presents us, through his brushstrokes, a luminous dialogue between two artists of universal scope.

ARTIKA, in collaboration with the Fondation Archives Antonio Saura, takes us into Baltasar Gracián’s masterpiece, El Criticón, illustrated by the Aragonese artist. A set of drawings that narrates in a glance the passages chosen by the painter himself from a classic of Spanish literature.

Saura shows us his most creative side, where he condenses the elements used in his work, in a unique jewel, limited and numbered to 998 copies.

«An impressive volume, bound in black cotton, contains Gracián's texts and a facsimile reproduction of Saura's 36 illustrations.»

The work is completed with a book of studies that deals in a clear and informative way with the life and work of Gracián, explains Saura’s career and recovers the artist’s correspondence in order to contextualize it.

The two books are presented in an aluminum and black lacquered wood case, colors that recall Saura’s palette. Its original design exposes the plate that decorates the cover of the volume or allows the exhibition, imitating a lectern, of the open book.

A collection of great visual power. An exceptional tribute to one of the great Spanish artists of the 20th century.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

CASE

  • Black lacquered wooden case.
  • Aluminum sliding lid, lined with black methacrylate on the inside.
  • Artist’s name die-cut on the upper side of the lid
  • Name of the work and the author silkscreened on the aluminum
  • Guides on the wooden base that allow the modeling in different positions for the exhibition of the artwork
  • Wooden nest with anti-fingerprint methacrylate screen upholstered with a portrait of Antonio Saura
  • Format: 50 x 39,5 x 18 cm.

ART BOOK

  • Silkscreen printed text on black cardboard, hand-sewn with cotton thread.
  • 4 mm cardboard cover with corner protectors and spine reinforced with black cloth.
  • Number of pages: 288
  • Reproduction of the 36 illustrations by Antonio Saura
  • 5-color printing of the plates with varnish on 200 gr. cotton paper.
  • Prints glued on the book with three dots of glue
  • Cover lined in black cotton cloth, with glued sheet
  • Format of the plates: 14 illustrations of 40.7 x 31 cm and 22 illustrations of 20 x 31 cm.
  • Volume format: 45 x 35.5 cm.

STUDY BOOK

  • 5-color printing on 200 gsm Tatami White paper.
  • Bound in cardboard with straight spine.
  • Number of pages: 144
  • Format: 22 x 44,5 cm

PRODUCTION PROCESS

In collaboration with Fondation Archives Antonio Saura, proofs are analyzed and printing plates are corrected.

Each illustration is reviewed by experts for approval or discarding. Stochastic screening guarantees faithful reproduction of the original.

The reproductions, on Modigliani Insize paper, are glued with three dots of glue on the pages of the book.

Due to the size of the book, a semi-manual sewing machine is used to join the sheets together.

The cover of the volume, manually lined with black cotton cloth, is accompanied by an illustration by the artist.

Expert craftsmen control and check the careful assembly of the wooden case, which will also serve as a lectern for the work.

The nest of the case is protected with an anti-fingerprint screen, combining the craftsmen’s expertise with an exclusive design.

The title of the work is screen-printed by hand on the lid. The artist’s name is embossed on the cover.

The books are protected inside the case, which has been elaborated to ensure their resistance over time.

Antonio Saura

Antonio Saura

(1930-1998) Considered one of the great Spanish artists of the 20th century, Saura was a self-taught painter and writer. He shared time and space with renowned artists such as Eduardo Chillida and his compatriot Antoni Tàpies.

He began to paint and write in Madrid in 1947, while recovering from tuberculosis that kept him immobilized for five years, and from the very beginning he was distinguished by his personal style of dreamlike and surrealist character.

About the artist

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