Felix Mas

Sketches of Franz Liszt

2008

Spanish artist Felix Mas has a rare gift for capturing his vision of female beauty, a style many have referred to as ‘sensual elegance.” His women are luminous and fresh, his perspective a celebration of female beauty in its many cultures and idealizations. A fine balance and preoccupation with line, form and the achievement of fine color harmonies leads us through symbolism and fantasy into the realm of beauty in the female figure. It is a talent that makes his paintings appealing to even those who do not usually take to this style. Born in Barcelona in 1935, his interest in art began as a child and he attended the San Jorge Academy of Fine Arts in Barcelona as young man. His first solo exhibition was held at the Galeria Jaimes in Barcelona and others soon followed throughout Europe and later North America. Travel is an obvious inspiration and influence on Mas’ work and his depictions of women. He is clearly influenced by Asian culture including a deep respect for Japanese woodblock prints, as well as the fashions of India, and the historical grace of Egypt, Rome and Greece. Each woman in his paintings is exquisitely dressed in rich fabrics that are elegantly draped and invariably placed in rich opulent settings surrounded by ornamentation and glossy accessories. Mas is a traditional painter and never one to shy away from hard work, including the fact that he creates his own pigments. His dedication to the perfection of each work is what makes what may seem like a repetitive theme so mesmerizing.