Description
José CRUZ HERRERA (1890-1972) Young woman with two oriental maids Oil on canvas Signed, dated "1942" on the lower left. Titled "Desdemona" in chalk on the reverse. H. 136 cm L. : 103 cm Spanish painter born in La Linéa, José Cruz Herrera followed a classical education at the School of Fine Arts in Madrid where his first exhibition was organized in 1915. A travelling painter, he spent a long time in South America and discovered Morocco in the 1920s. He settled in Casablanca (1923) where he lived until his death. He was exhibited for more than thirty years in several galleries in Casablanca as well as at the Salon Artistique de l'Afrique Française. Fascinated by the beauty of Moroccan women, Cruz Herrera is very appreciated for his portraits. In our work, the artist represented the grandmother of the current owner of the work under the features of Desdemona, the wife of Othello in the play of Shakespeare. Wearing a ruby colored dress, Desdemona is surrounded by her two maids. Cruz Herrera gives us a typical oriental atmosphere with these two Moroccan beauties, one holding a box and the other a rose. General bibliography on the artist: Eduardo Dizy Caso, "Les orientalistes de l'école Espagnole", ACR Edition, Paris 1997. Provenance: Family collection of the South West, the grandmother of the current owner being represented on this canvas under the features of Desdemona
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José CRUZ HERRERA (1890-1972) Young woman with two oriental maids Oil on canvas Signed, dated "1942" on the lower left. Titled "Desdemona" in chalk on the reverse. H. 136 cm L. : 103 cm Spanish painter born in La Linéa, José Cruz Herrera followed a classical education at the School of Fine Arts in Madrid where his first exhibition was organized in 1915. A travelling painter, he spent a long time in South America and discovered Morocco in the 1920s. He settled in Casablanca (1923) where he lived until his death. He was exhibited for more than thirty years in several galleries in Casablanca as well as at the Salon Artistique de l'Afrique Française. Fascinated by the beauty of Moroccan women, Cruz Herrera is very appreciated for his portraits. In our work, the artist represented the grandmother of the current owner of the work under the features of Desdemona, the wife of Othello in the play of Shakespeare. Wearing a ruby colored dress, Desdemona is surrounded by her two maids. Cruz Herrera gives us a typical oriental atmosphere with these two Moroccan beauties, one holding a box and the other a rose. General bibliography on the artist: Eduardo Dizy Caso, "Les orientalistes de l'école Espagnole", ACR Edition, Paris 1997. Provenance: Family collection of the South West, the grandmother of the current owner being represented on this canvas under the features of Desdemona
