Claudio
Bravo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born in Chile, November
8, 1936 in the town of Valparaíso, Claudio Bravo has lived and
worked in Tangier, Morocco since 1972.
In 1945 he joined the
Colegio San Ignacio in Santiago, Chile and studied art in the
studio of Miguel Venegas Cienfuentes in Santiago. In 1954 he had
his first exhibition at "Salón 13" in Santiago at the age of 17.
1955 He danced professionally with the Compañía de Ballet de
Chile and worked for Teatro de Ensayo of the Universidad
Católica de Chile.
Later he established
himself in Madrid in the 1960s as a society portraitist, gaining
recognition for his astounding ability to create verisimilitude.
His ability to depict complex objects and shapes is reminiscent
of Velázquez.
In 1968 Bravo received
an invitation from President Marcos of the Philippines to come
and paint him and his wife, Imelda Marcos as well as members of
the high society.
In 1970 he had his first
exhibition at the Staempfli Gallery in New York which received
rave reviews from renowned New York Times art critic John
Canaday. Years later, when Bravo's work reflected the hippie
movement, Canaday would refer to Bravo's work as "cheap and
vulgar".
Bravo moved to Tangier
in 1972 where he purchased a 19th century three story mansion.
He had many of the walls removed and the remaining walls were
painted white to encourage the Mediterranean light so present in
his paintings.
Bravo has painted many
prominent figures in society including dictator Franco of Spain,
President Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Imelda Marcos of the
Philippines and Malcolm Forbes.
Works by Claudio Bravo
are included in the collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art,
Baltimore, Maryland; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
New York; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile; Museo
Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico; Museum Boymans-van
Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Museum of Modern Art, New
York, New York; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; The Palmer
Museum of Art, State College, Pennsylvania; and the Philadelphia
Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
