Letter I, 1972

Rafael Alberti  

Letter I by Rafael Alberti, from the Alphabet series, is a lithograph made by Rafael Alberti in 1972. Hand signed and dated on the lower right margin. This is a proof of an edition of XX prints. The artwork represents the letter I, with an abstract poetic composition that represents the expressive style of Rafael Alberti, joyfully creating a dream that represents the artist's name through bright colors and shapes, characterized by soft strokes in harmony like musical tones. Rafael Alberti (El Puerto de Santa Maria 1902 - El Puerto de Santa Maria 1999) Spanish poet born in Puerto de Santa Maria in 1902, Rafael Alberti is one of the main exponents of the Generation of '27 and one of the greatest Spanish lyric poets of the twentieth century. After starting out as a painter, in 1925 he won the Premio Nacional de Literatura for the collection of poems Marinero en tierra (Sailor on Land). Alberti began painting in 1917 and writing poetry three years later. He was a close friend of artists such as Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso and the poet Federico Garcia Lorca, and in the late 1920s he published his dark, lyrical masterpiece Sobre los angeles (About Angels). Politics became increasingly important in Alberti's life, forcing him into exile after Francisco Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War. In 1963 he moved to Rome with his lifelong companion, Maria Teresa Léon, and it was in Italy that - influenced by the 20th-century avant-garde - he became active as a painter and graphic artist while continuing to write poetry. After settling in a house and studio in Anticoli Corrado, Alberti devoted himself to both art forms, moving between poems dedicated to nature and culture and existential reflections suspended between the world of dreams and reality.