La Jota y La QuinaInquire about availability
- Year
- 1973
- Technique
- Oil/Canvas
- Dimensions
- 67 × 106 cm
- Status
- Inquire about availability
Curatorial analysis
Curatorial analysis
Two hieratic presences dominate the horizontal plane in a suspended dialogue, where the imagery of playing cards and theatrical archetypes seem to merge. On the left, a face severed with geometric precision embodies human duality: one half sinks into absolute black, while the other emerges in a spectral white with an eye veiled beneath heavy lashes, crowned by a curved headdress of fiery carmine. On the right, a pale profile with disproportionate, almond-shaped eyes holds the gaze with an almost hypnotic intensity, standing out with delicate fragility against the gloom. Between both figures, what separates them is not physical distance, but a gulf of complicity, tension, and psychological reserve.
The pictorial matter is resolved through a strict yet vibrant chromatic economy, stripped down to the confrontation between lamp black, chalk white, and a dense range of garnet and vermilion reds. López Escarré works the oil paint allowing the canvas grain to breathe beneath lean glazes, contrasted with thicker impastos on the faces that catch light frontally. A thick, agile, and definitive black line traverses the surface with calligraphic rhythm, outlining necks, cheekbones, and drapery folds, establishing an undulating cadence that likens the figures to traditional card engravings or commedia dell'arte masks.
The artist avoids anecdotal description, concentrating the scene's power on non-communication and secrecy. The ear stylized like a musical clef, the lips sealed in a restrained grimace, and the flattened pictorial space all reinforce an atmosphere of hermetic ritual. By eliminating any reference to a recognizable setting, the darkness of the background pushes both beings toward the foreground, trapping them in a perpetual confrontation where the viewer acts as an involuntary witness to a game that never truly concludes.
More works by José Luis López Escarré
2 works
Inquire about availability
Similar works
By subject, palette and style
- CarasDesconocido Desconocido · 1969
- La ReuniónRafael Fernández · 1976
- Buscador de identidadesGuillermo Porras · 1998
- MuelleFrancisco Amighetti · 1986
- Siete GatosRafael Fernández · 1970
- Noche de CarnavalInquire about availabilityRafael Fernández · 2011
- Hombres y MascarasInquire about availabilityFrancisco Amighetti · 1975
- Gallos y GenteInquire about availabilityFrancisco Amighetti · 1970
- Tres FigurasInquire about availabilityJosé Manuel Gómez
- Friso de los Observadores ObservadosInquire about availabilityFrancisco Amighetti · 1972
- Maria FelixInquire about availabilityJosé Miguel Rojas · 2015
- GamonalInquire about availabilityLuisa González de Sáenz
