Spanish Flamenco Dancer / José Luis Rey Vila (1910-1983) / Ink And Watercolor

The Spanish Flamenco DancerInk and watercolor on paper signed lower right

34 x 24 cm (view)
56 x 43 cm with frame
Framed under canvas mat and molded wooden frame
Excellent condition

In this expressive and vibrant work, José Luis Rey Vila depicts a flamenco dancer in all his pride and dramatic intensity. Set in a dynamic pose, the figure adopts a posture typical of the male baile flamenco: chest out, arms on the hips, sidelong glance and legs firmly anchored to the ground. This codified gesture expresses both the tension of the body, Andalusian pride and the power of the inner rhythm. The mixed technique – ink and watercolor – allows Rey Vila to play on contrasts: the nervous and angular line defines the silhouette with force, while the colored washes surround it with visual vibrations evoking the movements of the dance. The shades of red, blue, brown, and black intertwine in the costume, enriching the figure without overloading it. The abstract, hatched background accentuates the sense of movement and emotional intensity, in a sort of colored aura that seems to surround the dancer like a visual echo of cante jondo. This is not an individualized portrait, but a flamenco icon: a synthetic, stylized figure, striving for pure expression.

José Luis Rey Vila (1910–1983) Born in Cádiz in 1910, José Luis Rey Vila, also known by the pseudonym SIM, was an artist with a committed career and a very recognizable style. Trained at the Beaux-Arts, he was deeply affected by the Spanish Civil War, during which he produced very powerful propaganda drawings. Exiled in France at the end of the conflict, he continued his work in a more intimate and cultural register. He then explored the Andalusian world through scenes of daily life, bullfighting and flamenco, capturing with precision the dramatic energy and poetry of bodies in movement. His style combines great rigor of drawing with a spontaneous freedom of execution. His entire work reveals a deep sensitivity to popular Spanish culture