Esteban Vicente

Key facts

Lived

1903–2001^[2]

Works held in

9 museums^[1]

Wikipedia

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• Mordecai Discovers the Conspiracy against Ahasuerus; verso: Male Head

  Harvard Art Museums

  Cambridge, United States

  8 works

  

  Museum detailsMap

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• What is Esteban Vicente known for?+

  Esteban Vicente is known for his abstract collages and gestural canvases. These works often featured saturated colour, fields of torn paper, and oil paint, maintaining warmth without becoming overly decorative.
• What is Esteban Vicente's most famous work?+

  Esteban Vicente was an abstract expressionist painter, and pinpointing a single "most famous" work is difficult, as his reputation rests on a body of work produced over many decades. He is perhaps better known for his distinctive style and contribution to the New York School than for one particular painting. Vicente's mature style, characterised by blocks of colour and a sense of collage, developed in the 1950s. He often worked on multiple canvases simultaneously, a practice that allowed him to explore variations on themes and maintain a sense of spontaneity. His paintings from this period, such as the works exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery, are well regarded. Later in life, Vicente gained recognition in Spain, his country of birth. The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Esteban Vicente, which opened in Segovia in 1998^[2], holds a significant collection of his paintings and collages. This museum has helped to solidify his reputation, particularly within Spain, but it has not canonised one single painting as his most important.
• What should I know about Esteban Vicente's prints?+

  Esteban Vicente, a Spanish-American artist associated with the New York School, is known for his abstract expressionist paintings. Printmaking was also part of his practice. Printmaking allowed some artists to explore concepts first developed in other media. Some painters found that the repetition offered by prints suited their artistic goals. In the United States and Europe, artists worked with printers sponsored by numerous publishers. Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE), Graphicstudio/University of South Florida, Gemini GEL, and Tyler Graphics Ltd are examples of workshops where artists create prints. ULAE, starting in the late 1950s, drew many New York artists to Long Island; its founder, Tatyana Grosman, had a reputation for publishing some of the finest work in the field. Gemini GEL, founded in Los Angeles in 1966^[2], became known for its technological skill and use of cutting-edge materials and processes.
• What style or movement did Esteban Vicente belong to?+

  Esteban Vicente is associated with the New York School and Abstract Expressionism, though his work also shows an individual approach. He began painting in a non-objective style around 1947^[2]. Vicente's art shares some characteristics with Color Field painters like Newman, particularly in its suggestion of vast spaces and a sense of control. His paintings evoke a sublime quality, a search for personal expression. Some see parallels between Vicente and other Abstract Expressionists; however, while some members of the New York School, such as Still, were considered romantic, others like Reinhardt adopted a more rationalist approach. Vicente's use of an air compressor to apply luminous colours to abstract paintings sets him apart.
• What techniques or materials did Esteban Vicente use?+

  Esteban Vicente's technique involved a mixture of oil paint with a medium of wax and turpentine. He prepared his canvases by priming them with two coats of turps-thinned Flake White over cotton duck canvas sized with animal-skin glue; he then sanded the surface when dry. To apply colour, Vicente mixed standard artist's oil paint with a medium of wax and turpentine, keeping this mixture warm on a hot plate. He combined one part melted white refined beeswax with four parts pure gum spirits of turpentine. This medium was then mixed with the paint by brush immediately before application to the canvas. The mixture was applied with a brush and worked so the medium and paint were thoroughly mixed, evenly covering the shape. Vicente then worked the paint with a large painting spatula and a small painting knife until he achieved a satisfactory state. He aimed for consistent surfaces within a single painting, although variables existed, such as extensive heating of the medium causing evaporation and making the paint gummy. Leftover paint, with wax added, was often used in mixing subsequent colours. Although he used wax, oil remained the primary binder, unlike encaustic painting where wax is the binder.
• What was Esteban Vicente known for?+

  Esteban Vicente Pérez (1903^[2]-2001^[2]) was an American abstract expressionist painter. Born in Spain, he moved to New York in 1936^[2], where he became associated with the New York School. Vicente is best known for his abstract paintings, often characterised by bright colours and gestural brushstrokes. His works frequently feature arrangements of geometric or biomorphic shapes, exploring spatial relationships and colour interactions. Some paintings are titled with colours, such as Red Blue Green (1963), White Black (1960), or Yellow Black (1968). Although primarily a painter, Vicente also produced collages and sculptures. He taught art at various institutions, including Black Mountain College, influencing younger generations of artists. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally, securing his place in the abstract expressionist movement.
• When did Esteban Vicente live and work?+

  Esteban Vicente Pérez was born in Turégano, Spain, on 20 January 1903^[2]. He is known for his abstract paintings and collages. Vicente's early life was spent in Spain before he moved to New York City in 1936^[2], where he spent most of his working life. His work gained attention in the New York art scene during the 1950s; in 1950-51, he taught at Yale School of Art and Architecture in New Haven. His first retrospective was at the School of The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1953. He was included in the XXVII Venice Biennale in 1954. From 1964 to 1970, he taught at New York University. Vicente later divided his time between New York and Bridgehampton, Long Island. He died on 25 January 2001^[2] in Bridgehampton, New York, at the age of 98.
• Where can I see Esteban Vicente's work?+

  Esteban Vicente's art can be viewed in several locations. In New York City, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, or the Whitney Museum of American Art. Alternatively, you could see his work at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, or at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Other locations include the Cleveland Museum of Art; the Robert Hull Fleming Museum at the University of Vermont, in Burlington; the Grey Art Gallery and Art Study Center, at New York University; the Guild Hall of East Hampton, New York; the National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C.; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; and the Phillips Collection, also in Washington, D.C. Additional venues are the University of Iowa Museum of Art, in Iowa City; the University of Nebraska Art Galleries, in Lincoln; the University Art Museum, at the University of New Mexico, in Albuquerque; the University of Texas at Austin; and the Walker Art Center, in Minneapolis.
• Who did Esteban Vicente influence?+

  It is difficult to say exactly who Esteban Vicente influenced. However, research into the impact of Henri Matisse may provide some context. Matisse's impact can be seen in American art from the 1940s through the 1970s. An exhibition catalogue, *After Matisse*, documents this influence with essays by art historians. The artists included range from Hans Hofmann to Sean Scully. Matisse influenced hard-edged painters (such as Youngerman, Kelly, and Zox), colourists (Frankenthaler, Motherwell and Stella), and figurative artists (Avery and Wesselman). Lichtenstein created pastiches of Matisse and Diebenkorn. Max Weber and John Marin, Milton Avery, Stuart Davis, and Audrey Skaling all showed some Matisse influence. Grace Hartigan was influenced by Matisse's *Bather by a River* and *Variation on a Still Life by de Heem*. Andre Lhote incorporated Matisse's colour usage in flat planes, which helped him develop a version of synthetic cubism. Morris Louis learned from Matisse's Fauvist features, multiplicity of separate and boldly coloured interactive elements, and drawing in colour shapes and arranging them on a surface.
• Who influenced Esteban Vicente?+

  Esteban Vicente's artistic development involved several influences. During his early years in Spain, he absorbed the lessons of the Spanish masters, particularly Diego Velázquez and Francisco de Goya. Their use of colour and form made an impression on his early work. After moving to Paris in 1921^[2], Vicente encountered modern European art. He was exposed to Cubism and Surrealism, styles that pushed him toward abstraction. His friendships with artists like Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró further shaped his artistic vision. These relationships provided an environment for experimentation. Later, after relocating to New York City in 1936, Vicente became associated with the New York School. This association exposed him to Abstract Expressionism. Artists such as Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko, with their emphasis on gesture and colour, impacted his style. Vicente synthesised these influences, creating his own approach to abstract painting, one characterised by lyrical colour combinations and a delicate balance of form.
• Who was Esteban Vicente?+

  Esteban Vicente (born in 1903^[2]) was an abstract painter. He used an air compressor to apply luminous colours to the canvas. Vicente is sometimes grouped with other Abstract Expressionists such as Adolph Gottlieb, James Brooks, William Baziotes, Ad Reinhardt, and Robert Motherwell. Motherwell, born in Aberdeen, Washington, studied philosophy at Harvard and Stanford before turning to painting. His work was inspired by European Modernism. Motherwell is known for his series of more than 100 paintings called "elegies" for the doomed Spanish Republic. These works incorporate oval shapes between irregular vertical bands, using black, white and brown paint. Other abstract artists of the period include Hans Hofmann, who experimented with poured paint, and Clyfford Still, known for nearly monochromatic paintings applied with a palette knife.
• Why are Esteban Vicente's works important today?+

  Esteban Vicente (1903^[2]-2001^[2]) was a Spanish-American Abstract Expressionist painter. Although linked to the New York School, his paintings are a distinctive contribution to the field. Vicente's works often hover between formal resolution and dissolution. Some elements expire as others emerge, creating a sense of grim restlessness. This negativity links him to the New York School, yet distances him from the more upbeat Art Informel of the School of Paris. His paintings unite the determined and undetermined, lacking the surface impasto found in Parisian works. Vicente's paintings differ from those of Nicolas de Stael, whose works are more sumptuous, and Pierre Soulages, whose paintings possess a self-conscious elegance. His incandescent accents also stand apart from the scintillating lines of Jean-Paul Riopelle. Vicente's use of colour further distinguishes him. Critic Luis Camnitzer noted that Vicente often "painted in black and white as a reaction against the sweet colours of his predecessors".