Claudio Bravo And Morocco

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Summary: Beautiful hyperrealistic, surrealistic paintings.
Review: Claudio Bravo is a Chilean born artist who began his career as a popular portrait painter. In 1961 he immigrated to Spain where his talents as a portraitist only increased the demand for his work and became a doubled edged sword: his popularity made him wealthy but the hectic lifestyle this imposed proved distracting and he sought a more tranquil life by relocating to Tangier in 1972 so that he could concentrate on his work without distraction. With only intermittant travels elswhere (Chile, Madrid and New York) Morocco has be his home for the past 30 years. As implied by its title, the stated purpose of this book is to address the impact living in Morocco has had on Claudio Bravo's art.

The book itself is divided into five main sections: three essays at the front, the catalog of pictures and finally a short biography of the artist follows at the back. The preface by Brahim Alaoui is just an even shorter version on the biography at the book's end. The interview with the artist provides the only insight into his work found in these essays The other two essays shed more light on their authors' concerns than they do on Bravo or his work, as these quotes should demonstrate: CLAUDIO BRAVO, ARCHITECT OF LIGHT by Ben Jelloun-"Art doesn't announce itself; it imposes itself." ... "He (Bravo) renders isolation in an ambiguous bond between his fantasy and the viewer's way of looking." CLAUDIO BRAVO: REALIST IN THE ARAB WORLD by Edward J. Sullivan -"From our current, more nuanced critical perspective we now understand how these images, such as Gerome's famous depictions of Napoleon in Egypt, served as concrete affirmation of th imposition fo European Hegemony on Islamic nations." ... "This exhibition of Claudio Bravo's Moroccan subjects is an essential cultural event. These paintings link two worlds and serves [sic] as bridges of continuity between pictorial and cultural traditions of places that are in close physical proximity yet, because of misconceptions and political machinations, are conceived of as impossibly separate."

The curtorial aims of this book are dubious and not too successful but, fortunately, they don't matter because the real reason to get this book is the opportunity it gives for looking at the artist's marvelous paintings. It contains 67 full page high quality reproductions covering portrait (only one, alas), figure (no real nudes though), landscape, interior and still lifes (42 of the 67 are still lifes) which amply display Bravo's superb artistry.

Bravo admits that he draws inspiration from Classic Renaissance Italian, Spanish Baroque and Surrealists masters. From the Italian masters, particularly Raphael, he learned precision and the wisdom of craftsmanship; from the 17th century Spanish Baroque masters, Francisco de Zubaran and Fray Juan Sanchez Cotan, he learned a scrupulous study of details and play of light and from the surrealists such as Salvador Dali he gleaned intensity and bizarre juxtapositions.

This hodgepodge sounds like a recipe for chaos, but Bravo's genious not only synthesized these disparate elements but made something unique to himself from them. This is especially apparent in his still lifes where his near obsessive reverance for detail, texture and atmosphere are combined with an meticulously realistic treatment of light (His paintings are all about light handled in an intensely, and astoundingly, realistic style,) are hallmarks of his style.

This is the only book currently in print showcasing Bravo's work and at Amazon's bargain price it should prove irresistible to admirers of Claudio Bravo's art and to anyone passionate about beautiful, realistic painting.

Buy it before it goes out of print.