JOSÉ DUARTE MONTILLA (Córdoba, 1928- Madrid, 2017). "Campesina". Graphite on paper. With framing label on the back. Signed in the lower right area. Size: 46 x 31,5 cm; 67 x 51,5 cm (frame). José Duarte trained at the School of Arts and Crafts in Cordoba and at the School of Fine Arts of Santa Isabel de Hungría, in Seville. He then travelled to Paris and met Picasso, an encounter which left a deep impression on Duarte and prompted him to settle in the French capital from 1956 onwards. A year later he was a founding member of Equipo 57, with which he held exhibitions in Paris, Copenhagen and Madrid, among other cities. In 1993 the MNCA Reina Sofía devoted an important retrospective exhibition to the group. Equipo 57 disbanded in 1963, and José Duarte rethought his objectives as an artist. He then joined the group of printmakers Estampa Popular, and took part in all their exhibitions, held in Spain and abroad. This was the beginning of what would become his clearly figurative line, which he would not abandon for the rest of his career. He worked on social themes until 1980, and at the same time he made his work known through important exhibitions in Spain and abroad. However, between 1981 and 1989 Duarte went into a crisis and stopped exhibiting, until 1991, when he decided to bring to light all the works he had produced during that period. Since then, and in his current work, Duarte's passion has been focused on painting for its own sake. During these years he held important exhibitions in Madrid, the Seville Expo and Cordoba (monographic), among other cities, and the maturity of his new work came to light, earning him the 1995 Madrid Regional Fine Arts Prize, two years after receiving the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts along with the other members of Equipo 57. José Duarte is currently represented in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, among other collections, both public and private.