Who was the artist Fernando Zóbel?
Fernando Zóbel was a Spanish painter, printmaker and collector from the Philippines who spent his life between his native country, Europe—Spain, in particular—and the United States. He was a central figure in the Spanish abstract art movement and founded the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español in Cuenca, Spain.
The artist Fernando Zóbel was born in Manila in 1924 to one of the most influential families in the Philippines: the Zóbel de Ayala family. Growing up in the Philippines, Fernando Zóbel learned English as his second language. During the Second World War, the Spanish painter spent one year studying medicine at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila in 1941. Suffering from a spinal problem the following year, he was forced to drop out of medical school and was subsequently bedridden for almost a year at the National Orthopaedic Hospital. It was during this period that Zóbel began experimenting with painting.
Discover a complete portrait of the Spanish painter Fernando Zóbel, from his life and works to his achievements as an artist.
