This work is a magnificent example of the early period of this Leonese painter, who specialises almost exclusively in landscape painting.

He began his training at the School of Fine Arts in Madrid, although his style was decisively formed during the period he spent at the Spanish Academy in Rome. It was then that he evolved towards a conceptual analysis of time, which he expressed through series, becoming the most unusual figurative artist of the time.

Also important are his portraits, which he executes from life, generally in a single sitting; what interests him is the beauty of the unpredictability involved in painting

 alla prima 

Also known in English as wet-on-wet, this Italian term means “at first attempt” and is used to name a painting technique which, instead of distributing colours layered one on top of the other, applies them quickly and directly in one session, while the paint is still wet. This method requires self-assurance and finesse, relying solely on the brushwork to give shape to the composition, model the figures and distribute light and shadow without the need for any preliminary drawing.

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This painting comes from his earliest years of creative activity, when, because of his paternal roots, he concentrated on Cantabrian landscapes. His scenes are not depictions of specific places, idyllic or bucolic locations, but insignificant and prosaic views in which he paints roads, factories or lamp posts. The choice of viewpoint does not seem to convey enthusiasm, and yet the purity of the draughtsmanship, the realism and the softness of the light imbue the canvas with a serenity not unmixed with melancholy.