Ramiro ARRUE (1892-1971) - Lot 67

Ramiro ARRUE (1892-1971) Godalet-dantza or Glass Dance, with Zamalzain Oil on canvas signed lower right. 60 x 81 cm Provenance: The artist's doctor in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, by descent. In August 2022, Côte Basque Enchères had the pleasure of auctioning works of the same provenance, from another branch of the family. Our work features the emblematic Soulet dance in a tripartite composition, with the Zamalzain in his horse costume in the center, the Txerrero with whip on the left and the Cantinière on the right. These colorfully-dressed characters dance, suspended in the air, around the famous glass. Alternating with the "troupe of reds" and as if in contrast, in the background, in gray tones and firmly anchored to the ground, the txistulari is the last essential character of Basque dances, echoed by two slate canvases. This relatively large canvas is a fine tribute to this very special folklore of the Basque Country. It is a representation dear to Ramiro Arrue, who studied Basque costumes extensively and whose beautiful color engraving of the same theme illustrates Francis Jammes' Mariage Basque. This work is one of the most complete representations of Masquerades, and captures particularly well what Philippe Veyrin described as "the masterpiece, the climax of the show [which] is always the successive dance of the five leads around this glass filled with wine, which the closest steps, the most leaping entrechats always miraculously avoid". Bibiography: - Olivier RIBETON, Ramiro Arrue Entre avant-garde et tradition, exhibition Biarritz Le Bellevue July 8-September 17, 2017, Biarritz, 2017, p. 130. - Gran Enciclopedia vasca, Ramiro Arrue, volume VII, fascicule 68. A watercolor sketch of the characters on the left is reproduced on p. 230, and a painting of the characters on the right is reproduced on p. 252.