Miguel García Vivancos
Encyclopedia
Miguel García Vivancos (April 19, 1895, Mazarrón
, Region of Murcia
— January 23, 1972, Córdoba
) was a Spanish
Naïve
painter and anarchist
.
He, his widowed mother and his brothers left for Barcelona
, where García Vivancos became active in radical politics. Resenting the violence with which trade union
s were met by employers, he formed the anarchist group Los Solidarios
, together with Buenaventura Durruti
, Francisco Ascaso
, Juan García Oliver
, Gregorio Jover, Ramona Berri, Eusebio Brau, Manuel Campos, and Aurelio Fernández.
García Vivancos was active during the Spanish Civil War
, leading the Aguiluchos Column on the Huesca
Front, as well as other major units in Belchite
and Teruel
.
After the war, he took refuge in France
, being detained in Camp Vernet
. Still present there at the beginnings of Vichy France
, he was freed by the Maquis
and joined the French Resistance
.
García Vivancos was living in Paris
at the end of World War II
, taking on various jobs. He started painting landscapes of the city, which he would usually sell to United States
soldiers. He discovered his talent, and soon improved his technique in oil painting
.
In 1947 he met and was well received by Pablo Picasso
. Picasso arranged for him to meet art dealers, and García Vivancos was able to open his very own exhibition in 1948. His works are exhibited throughout the world, and form part of prestigious collections such as those of François Mitterrand
, David Rothschild, Helena Rubinstein
, and Greta Garbo
.
Mazarrón
Mazarrón is a municipality in the autonomous community and province of Murcia, southeastern Spain. The municipality has an area of , and a population of more than 34,351 inhabitants...
, Region of Murcia
Region of Murcia
The Region of Murcia is an autonomous community of Spain located in the southeast of the country, between Andalusia and Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast....
— January 23, 1972, Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
) was a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Naïve
Naïve art
Naïve art is a classification of art that is often characterized by a childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique. While many naïve artists appear, from their works, to have little or no formal art training, this is often not true...
painter and anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
.
He, his widowed mother and his brothers left for Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, where García Vivancos became active in radical politics. Resenting the violence with which trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s were met by employers, he formed the anarchist group Los Solidarios
Los Solidarios
Los Solidarios , also known as Crisol , was an Spanish anarchist armed-struggle group founded in 1922 or 1923 in Barcelona, as a reply to the dirty war strategy used by the employers and government against trade unions....
, together with Buenaventura Durruti
Buenaventura Durruti
José Buenaventura Durruti Dumange was a central figure of Spanish anarchism during the period leading up to and including the Spanish Civil War.-Early life:...
, Francisco Ascaso
Francisco Ascaso
Francisco Ascaso Abadía was a prominent Anarcho-syndicalist figure in Spain.A baker and waiter, Ascaso joined the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo and one of its armed groups, Los Justicieros...
, Juan García Oliver
Juan García Oliver
Juan García Oliver was a Spanish Anarcho-syndicalist revolutionary, and a leading figure of Anarchism in Spain....
, Gregorio Jover, Ramona Berri, Eusebio Brau, Manuel Campos, and Aurelio Fernández.
García Vivancos was active during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, leading the Aguiluchos Column on the Huesca
Huesca
Huesca is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the comarca of Hoya de Huesca....
Front, as well as other major units in Belchite
Belchite
Belchite is a village in the province of Zaragoza, Spain, about 40 km southeast of Zaragoza. It is the capital of Campo de Belchite comarca and is located in a plain surrounded by low hills, the highest of which is Lobo...
and Teruel
Teruel
Teruel is a town in Aragon, eastern Spain, and the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 34,240 in 2006 making it one of the least populated provincial capitals in the country...
.
After the war, he took refuge in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, being detained in Camp Vernet
Camp Vernet
Le Vernet Internment Camp, or Camp Vernet, was a concentration camp in Le Vernet, Ariège, near Pamiers, in the French Pyrenees. It was originally built in June 1918 to house French colonial troops serving in World War I but when hostilities ceased it was used to hold German and Austrian prisoners...
. Still present there at the beginnings of Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
, he was freed by the Maquis
Maquis (World War II)
The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
and joined the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
.
García Vivancos was living in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, taking on various jobs. He started painting landscapes of the city, which he would usually sell to United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soldiers. He discovered his talent, and soon improved his technique in oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
.
In 1947 he met and was well received by Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
. Picasso arranged for him to meet art dealers, and García Vivancos was able to open his very own exhibition in 1948. His works are exhibited throughout the world, and form part of prestigious collections such as those of François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
, David Rothschild, Helena Rubinstein
Helena Rubinstein
Helena Rubinstein , a Polish born Australian-American business magnate. She is the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein, Incorporated, which made her one of the world's richest women.-Early life:...
, and Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
.