(Curicó 1880–1964 Santiago de Chile)
A Girl Sitting on a Rock with a View of the Sea, signed Benito Robelledo C., oil on canvas, 55.5 x 45 cm, framed (frame damaged, parts enclosed)

Provenance:
Private Collection Central America.

At the age of 15, Benito Correa Rebolledo, a young artist from a rural background, went to Santiago de Chile to study decorative painting. There he joined the group of young artists and intellectuals, the Colonia Tolstoyana, whose ideas were influenced by the writings of Leo Tolstoy and whose works dealt mainly with socio-political issues. Rebolledo completed his artistic training at the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Santiago. He carried out commissions for the ceiling of the Teatro Municipal de Santiago and produced scenes for the ceiling painting of the church of San Agustín in Santiago de Chile. He was a member of the Generación del 13, Chile‘s first artists‘ collective led by the Spanish painter Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor.
Rebolledo initially devoted himself to social themes based on his experiences in the Colonia Tolstoyana. His breakthrough, however, came with his bright landscapes and depictions of nudes on the beach. This mean that he already had solo exhibitions in Santiago, Concepción and Buenos Aires during his lifetime. His paintings have a radiant, clear colouring, as does the present lot. The focus is on the play between light and shadow on bodies and in the water. The influence of Spanish Impressionism can be felt in the luminosity of his paintings.