Jesus Fuertes (; 14 April 1938 – 18 June 2006) was a

Cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, who was initiated into the world of art by

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

, and was described as a "true genius" by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

. Fuertes often chose women and cats as his subject matter. Several of his well-known works involve the use of shades of blue, which earned him the nickname "Painter of Blue". His paintings hang in such notable buildings as the Queen Sofia Art Museum in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, the Beaux Arts Museum in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, the Contemporary Art Museum in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, the Pretoria Art Museum in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and the

São Paulo Museum of Modern Art The São Paulo Museum of Modern Art, (Portuguese: Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, or MAM), is located in Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo. Founded by Francisco Matarazzo Sobrinho and Yolanda Penteado, and built in 1948, the museum is modelled on ...

in Brazil. His works have also been acquired by various celebrities and institutions, such as King

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...

and Queen

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

of Spain,

Princess Christina of the Netherlands Princess Christina of the Netherlands (Maria Christina; 18 February 1947 – 16 August 2019) was the youngest of four daughters of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She taught singing in New York and was ...

, Prince

Albert II of Belgium Albert II (born 6 June 1934) is a member of the Belgian royal family who reigned as King of the Belgians from 9 August 1993 until his abdication on 21 July 2013. Albert II is the son of King Leopold III and the last living child of Queen As ...

, Baron Benjamin de Rothschild, the Spanish Ambassador Miguel de Aldasoro,

Jacqueline Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular fi ...

Paloma Picasso Paloma Picasso (born Anne Paloma Ruiz-Picasso y Gilot on 19 April 1949) is a French jewelry designer and businesswoman. She is best known for her collaboration with Tiffany & Co and her signature perfumes. The daughter of artists Pablo Picas ...

, Yves Saint Laurent,

Paco Rabanne Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo (18 February 1934 – 3 February 2023), more commonly known under the pseudonym of Paco Rabanne (; ), was a Spanish-born naturalised-French fashion designer. Rabanne rose to prominence as an ''enfant terrible'' of ...

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...

Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born July 22, 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1,200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on July 22, 1946, ...

Sara Montiel María Antonia Abad Fernández Medal of Merit in Labour, MML (10 March 1928 – 8 April 2013), known professionally as Sara Montiel, also Sarita Montiel, was a Spanish actress and singer. She began her career in the 1940s and became the most int ...

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( ; ; ; born Shahnur Vaghinak Aznavourian; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a Armenians in France, French singer and songwriter of Armenian descent. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringi ...

Sacha Distel Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French musician and singer who had hits with a cover version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" in 1970, which reached No 10 in the UK Charts, " Scoubidou", and " The Good Lif ...

, Capital Bank founder and president Abel Holtz, Deutsche Bank, Phillips, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, and Sabena Airlines."Gallery Magazine (GSC Media Group):The Blue Painter, author: Pablo J. Gasc, pages 16, 17, Coral Gables, Florida, October, 1997"

Early life

Fuertes was born in

, Spain in 1938, during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

to a Bohemian poet who moved in the same literary circles as poets Jorge Guillen and Pedro Salinas. War and political uncertainty in Spain forced the Fuertes family to seek political asylum in France. While in France his father met

who, at that time, was involved with a group that helped Spanish artists and intellectuals adjust to life in exile. Fuertes' father began to frequent symposiums attended by Picasso and they quickly formed a friendship which would last for life."Pretoria News, Pretoria, South Africa: Gift to Museum, author: Alice Coetzee, page 3, 14 January 1985" Fuertes' first exhibition was at the age of 15 at the Young European Painters Exhibition in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, which awarded him the second place prize.

Early influences

His first contact with the Surrealist world was made through

, who introduced him to

André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...

, the father of the Surrealist movement. However, Fuertes was receptive to other trends, movements, and quests, which attracted the attention of

. The two developed an assiduous relationship, thus permitting Fuertes to research the roots of Cubism. This led him to paint his first neo-cubist canvas. In 1957, he exhibited with Salvador Dalí,

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...

Antoni Tàpies Antoni Tàpies i Puig, 1st Marquess of Tápies, Marquess of Tàpies (; 13 December 1923 – 6 February 2012) was a Catalans, Catalan painter, sculptor, and art theorist. Life The son of Josep Tàpies i Mestre and Maria Puig i Guerra, Antoni T ...

, and

at the Bruxelles International Expo, Spanish Pavilion. In 1963, Fuertes left for

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he won the first place prize for his painting ''Torneo Medieval'', awarded by the Grand

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

for Painting and Sculpture. It was in Italy that he developed a friendship with

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( ; ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the art movement, which profoundly influenced the surrealists. His ...

, the master painter of

metaphysical art Metaphysical painting () or metaphysical art was a style of painting developed by the Italian artists Giorgio de Chirico and Carlo Carrà. The movement began in 1910 with de Chirico, whose dreamlike works with sharp contrasts of light and shadow ...

, with whom, in 1965, he exhibited his work alongside notable constructivists and surrealists such as

Balthus Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (February 29, 1908 – February 18, 2001), known as Balthus, was a Polish-French modern artist. He is known for his erotically charged images of pubescent girls, but also for the refined, dreamlike quality of his ima ...

Umberto Boccioni Umberto Boccioni (; ; 19 October 1882 – 17 August 1916) was an influential Italian painter and sculptor. He helped shape the revolutionary aesthetic of the Futurism movement as one of its principal figures. Despite his short life, his approach ...

and Carlo Carra. Upon his return to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Fuertes met Alechinsky. He would also meet regularly with Apel and other artists at the La Coupole Café on the Boulevard du Montparnasse. It was at these meetings that Fuertes began his friendship with the abstract painter,

Viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

. In 1967, Dalí presented a Fuertes' exhibition at the Grévin Museum in Paris and, in the two years that followed, Fuertes exhibited along with Salvador Dalí,

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgium, Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature ...

Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, writer, filmmaker, magazine publisher, poet, and typography, typographist closely associated with Dada. When consid ...

Paul Delvaux Paul Delvaux (; 23 September 1897 – 20 July 1994) was a Belgian painter noted for his dream-like scenes of women, classical architecture, trains and train stations, and skeletons, often in combination. He is often considered a surrealist, alt ...

, Félix Labisse,

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, ...

Max Ernst Max Ernst (; 2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic trai ...

, and others. After that, his paintings were extensively exhibited around Europe and in the United States.

Later life

In 1979, Fuertes moved to

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil, where he developed some coloring expressions – a true representation of one of the first forms of "tropical neo-cubism". In São Paulo he gained the respect and admiration of local modern-art collectors, museums, and the general public.''Brazil Herald'', São Paulo, Brazil: "The Art of Jesus Fuertes, author: Sol Biderman, 10 September 1982" In 1996, Fuertes established a studio in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, where he lived until his death in June 2006, at the age of 68.

Awards

* 1953 Second place prize at the Young European Painters Exposition in

* 1963 Grand

for Painting and Sculpture. First place prize for his painting "Torneo Medieval"

Exhibitions

(List as per Artnet) * 1953 - Young European Painters International Show, Berlin, Germany * 1954 - Saya Gallery, Lille, France * 1955 - Brachot Gallery, Bruxelles, Belgium * 1956 - New Tendencies, Le Petite Gallery, Paris, France * 1957 - Bateauivre Gallerie, Paris, France, with Bernard Buffet * 1958 - Bruxelles International Expo, Spanish Pavilion, Exhibited with Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Antoni Tàpies and Pablo Picasso * 1959 - Gallery at the Hotel Saint Regis, New York * 1960 - Magnus Gallery, Perpignan, France * 1961 - Escrigit Gallery, Amberes, Belgium * 1962 - Euroart Gallery, Paris, France * 1964 - Simon Swartz Gallery, Switzerland * 1965 - Circo Gallery, Rome, Italy, with notable constructivists and Italian surrealists Baltazar Baltrus, Umberto Boccioni, De Chirico and Carlo Carra * 1966 - Luigi Amasso Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts * 1967 - Grévin Museum, Paris, France, exhibition presented by Salvador Dalí * 1968 - Massey Museum, Tarbes, France with Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Francis Picabia and others * 1968 – San Antonio International Art Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas * 1969 - Knokke Casino, Belgium, group exhibition with surrealists Magritte, Del Vaux, Labisse, Man Ray, Max Ernst and others * 1972 - Katya Granoff Gallery, Paris, France * 1974 - Naharro Gallery, Zaragoza, Spain * 1976 - Sala Galderes, Barcelona, Spain * 1977 - Luigi Amasso Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts * 1980 – São Paulo Museum of Modern Art, São Paulo, Brazil * 1981 - Museum of Belo Horizonte, Brazil * 1984 - Spanish Embassy in Brasília, Brazil * 1985 - Embassy Gallery, Miami, Florida * 1987 - Halos Gallery, Marseille, France * 1988 - Museum of Modern Art in Amsterdam, Netherlands * 1989 - Clicler Gallery, Toronto, Canada * 1990 - Gallery of the Hotel El Camino Real, Mexico City, Mexico * 1991 - Art Miami, Miami, Florida * 1992 - South Western Gallery, Miami, Florida * 1993 - Osaka Gallery, Tokyo, Japan * 1994 - Vanidades Gallery, Miami, Florida * 1995 - Art Miami, Miami, Florida * 2000 – Artelenium Gallery: Barcelona, Spain, with Miró and Picasso * 2000 - New York, exhibition sponsored by Plácido Domingo and Mayor Giuliani * 2003 – Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid, Spain, "Quijote in Miami" painting

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuertes, Jesus 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters 21st-century Spanish painters 1938 births 2006 deaths Painters from Madrid Painters from Miami Spanish cubist artists Artists from São Paulo 21st-century Spanish male artists