In this work, Ramiro Tapia conceived an architecture clearly inspired by the towers and the ziggurats of vanished ancient civilizations which take over this fruit-laden tree of Babel. The connection with the biblical city, punished for its arrogance by a confusion of languages, is made explicit in the title of the painting, The Tree of Babel.

The two works by Tapia in the BBVA Collection belong to his series Arquitecturas imposibles, a subject matter he worked on until the mid-1980s, rendering imaginary, impossible and utopian buildings in invented cities. In this period, he made the most of his studies in Architecture, which he had abandoned to devote himself full time to painting, a discipline that give him greater creative freedom. Art is, for him, a way of eluding reality and its physical boundaries, and a medium that allows him to imagine impossible architectures and, ultimately, to build the city of his dreams.

Ramiro Tapia’s work is rife with symbols and metaphors, with hieroglyphs that make up a personal language and provide an insight into his knowledge of theology, medieval iconography, ancient civilizations, astrology, etc. Besides these references, one can also note the influence of painters like Paul Klee (1879-1940), especially critical in his early works, or the Flemish artists Hieronymus Bosch (h. 1450-1516) and Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1525-1569). Equally important for him were the illustrations of fantasy narratives by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), Gustave Doré (1832-1883) and Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898).

As this painting illustrates, Tapia developed a style that pays great attention to detail, with contoured forms and solid colours in a palette dominated by reds and blues. Always keeping strict symmetry using forceful and geometric volumes, he created these unusual fantasy compositions that combine architecture and vegetation.

In the mid-eighties, burdened by the state of the world, the artist underwent a personal crisis that eventually led to a new period in his work. From that moment onwards, he destroyed these utopian cities built as the sole means of redemption and renewal.