José Vela Zanetti (May 27, 1913 – January 4, 1999) was a Spanish painter and muralist who worked in Spain, the Dominican Republic and the United States.
Early years
Vela Zanetti was born in Milagros (
Province of Burgos
The province of Burgos is a Provinces of Spain, province of northern Spain, in the northeastern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Palencia (p ...
),
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
on May 27, 1913. He spent his childhood in
León and later moved to
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 ...
, where he studied under
José Ramón Zaragoza
José Ramón Zaragoza Fernández (16 March 1874, Cangas de Onís - 29 July 1949, Alpedrete) was a Spanish painter, primarily known for Genre art, genre scenes and female portraits.
Biography
He began his studies at the School of Arts and Crafts ...
. In 1931, his first solo exhibition was held in León. He was awarded a scholarship to study in Italy in 1933.
In 1936, 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 ...
, Vela Zanetti’s father was executed for his socialist beliefs. At the end of the war, in 1939, Vela Zanetti went into exile in the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
, as did artists
Josep Gausachs and
Eugenio Granell.
The Dominican Republic
Vela Zanetti was extremely successful in the Dominican Republic. He had his first solo exhibition in
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
a year after his arrival, and his career as a muralist flourished. Vela Zanetti was commissioned to paint more than 100 murals in the country, including works in the Justice Building, Central Bank and National Library (all in Santo Domingo). In addition to working as an artist, he became a professor at the National School of Fine Arts in Santo Domingo in 1945, and was named the school’s director in 1949.
New York
Vela Zanetti won a
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
for Hispanic artists in 1951. He used the fellowship to travel to New York and decided to stay for several years. In 1953, he painted his most famous work ''Mankind's Struggle for a Lasting Peace'', a mural at the UN headquarters in New York. Painted in a somber palette of blues and browns, the work depicts the horrors of war and shows people working together to rebuild the world.
Return to Spain
In 1960 he returned to Spain. In his later years, the artist focused on easel paintings, particularly portraits, still lifes, landscapes and religious works.
He died on January 4, 1999, in
Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...
, Spain, at the age of 85.
References
*De los Santos, Danilo, ''Memoria de la pintura dominicana, Volumen 2'', Santo Domingo: Grupo León Jimenes, 2003.
*
*
External links
Mural at the United NationsPhoto of the mural at UNVela Zanetti Foundation(in Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vela Zanetti, Jose
1913 births
1999 deaths
People from the Province of Burgos
20th-century Spanish painters
20th-century Spanish male artists
Spanish male painters
Spanish muralists
Spanish expatriates in the Dominican Republic
Spanish expatriates in the United States