112 - CAMILO VALENZUELA (Madrid, second third of the 20th century).

CAMILO VALENZUELA (Madrid, second third of the 20th century). “Garden at Night.” Oil on panel. Signed in the lower left corner. Measurements: 24.5 x 24.5 cm; 44 x 44 cm (frame). Provenance: Estate of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. Artistic and heritage collection originating in the legacy of Catalan painters Ramon Martí Alsina (1826–1894), a seminal figure of 19th-century Catalan Realism, and his son Ricard Martí Aguiló (1857–1935). Passed down and enriched across successive generations, the collection brings together works from the original holdings of both artists alongside acquisitions made by their descendants. Dedicated to preserving and recovering the family legacy, the descendants actively reacquired works by the painters as they entered the market, progressively expanding the collection to encompass paintings, sculptures, archaeological artifacts, and other items of artistic and historical significance. A self-taught painter and poet, Camilo Valenzuela was a deeply intuitive artist, the creator of a body of work always executed on panel and at night—lyrical and symbolic—the result of intense, extensive, and continuous labor that was entirely personal. Although born in Madrid, he settled in Seville at a very young age, and in fact did not hold his first exhibition in the capital until 1974—a solo show at the Villares-Toro Gallery that was praised by critics. His exhibition activity was particularly intense in the 1970s, with his solo shows in Seville—at the Lambert Gallery (1975) and the Mercantil Gallery (1976)—standing out in particular. His work is currently represented primarily in private collections.