Juan González Alacreu

JUAN GONZÁLEZ ALACREU (Burriana, Castellón, 1937).Untitled.Oil on canvas.Signed in the lower left corner.Size: 73 x 100 cm; 90 x 116 cm (frame).González Alacreu was already taking classes at the age of eight at the School of Arts and Crafts, and when he was only sixteen he obtained a scholarship to study at the School of Fine Arts of San Carlos in Valencia. There he was a disciple of Sanchís Gago, Genaro Lahuerta and Bayarri. After completing his training, he worked for many years as an illustrator for various publishing houses, demonstrating his mastery of drawing, until he finally decided to devote himself exclusively to painting. Alacreu's work stands out for its language based on the purity of drawing, the basis on which he paints light, translucence and reflections through vigorous brushstrokes, full of matter. The female figure is the protagonist of his paintings, which are always linked to the Mediterranean landscape and customs: the scenes of local customs in the rice fields and the Albufera, the overcast skies so common in his region, etc. His work is nevertheless very diverse; although he usually dealt with genre scenes and landscapes, his paintings of Valencian women, dressed in regional costume with elegance and elegance, arouse great interest. In these works we can appreciate, as if it were a photograph, the great ornamental richness of typical Valencian dress. Alacreu reveres the landscape and is passionate about the light and customs of his Levantine homeland, and he captures all this in his work, which is intelligent and intuitive in terms of colour, and almost perfect in terms of plastic syntax. Some analysts have placed his production within the best classical-Impressionist tradition, with a notable influence of Sorolla in the technical, loose and impressionistic aspect and in his great concern for the aspects of light. It should be emphasised that this painter was also a great portraitist, having painted portraits of great Valencian social and political figures. He was also for years the official painter of the fallera mayor in Valencia. Alacreu has held numerous individual exhibitions in Castellón, Valencia, Madrid, Zaragoza and Barcelona, among other Spanish cities. He is currently represented in the Fallas Museum in Valencia, as well as in various private collections.