Matta Lithographs Donated to the Cervantes Institute

Germana Ferrari, the widower of Roberto Matta, has donated fifteen lithographs to the Cervantes Institute from the “Don Qui: Matta’s Quixote” series, recently exposed in this same venue as part of the celebrations for the artist’s 100th birthday.

The works belong to a series made by the artist back in 1985, all numbered and signed by Matta, and whose main theme is the celebrated character created by Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, Don Quixote, the source of inspiration for a considerable chunk of the Chilean artist’s work.

Cervantes Institute director Carmen Caffarel and Roberto Matta’s widower Germana Ferrari inked in Madrid the agreement that certifies the donation to the Cervantes Institute and vests it as the entity responsible for the proper preservation, exposition and safety of the artworks. The accord also embraces the commitment to permanently displaying the pieces in Madrid, in other parts of Spain or in any of its affiliated offices overseas.

Roberto Sebastian Matta Echaurren (Santiago de Chile, 1911-Civitavecchia, Italy, 2002) was one of Latin America’s most prolific and outstanding artistic figures of the 20th century. Penciled in as the last representative of surrealism, he exerted a tremendous influence on America’s abstractionism in the wake of his life as an exile in that country in 1942, as well as on Europe, where he returned in 1948.

Born in a Basque-origin family, Matta maintained close ties with Spain where he met Federico Garcia Lorca and other boldface names of the 1927 Generation. He received Spanish citizenship a few years before his passing.

His formation as an architect and his restless quest for new forms of expression led him to developing a career in such disciplines as painting, illustration, sculpturing, design and poetry. His works grabbed many of the world’s most prestigious awards, including the 1992 Prince of Asturias Prize in Arts.