In 1959, Marcelino Vespeira began his collaboration with Revista Colóquio Artes (from 1962 onwards, he will ensure its graphic direction). Part of an experimental period that started in 1954, of geometric abstractionism, this painting displays, nevertheless, some constants in his work: the strong contrasting colours — even if, as we can find in this painting, the author chooses a warm red to orange to pale yellow palette. It is in the tonal gradation - which gradually opens up, creating a volumetric effect - that the light explodes. On the other hand, the warm reds and oranges that surround the areas of pale yellow are blazing. Their angular shapes create a fierce compositional dynamism, and stress the painter's interest for balance and music, particularly for flamenco and jazz. At the same time disciplined and irreverent, this painting captures one's eye by the rigorous use of colour, both constrained and diluted into the next shade. The movement we perceive in the composition is as much a result of such tonal transformation, as of the progressive opening of the darker tones on the way to the light. The paint strokes in both straight and curved lines give the painting its geometric expressivity, reminiscent of the “inner geometry” of his mother's weaving work, a legacy the artist would claim until the end of his life.

EF