Montoya — Three grotesque faces — Mixed media on paper

A unique work on paper signed “Montoya”, featuring three grotesque, expressionist-looking faces that emerge compressed within the composition.

The figures display a deliberate distortion of features: bulging eyes, angular profiles, prominent teeth, and physiognomies reminiscent of masks. The result oscillates between the human, the animal, and the fantastic, constructing an image of strong psychological intensity and great narrative capacity.

Drawing constitutes the fundamental structure of the work. The artist uses rapid, energetic black strokes to define the outlines, while blue, reddish, and earth tones partially model the faces and clothing. Color is applied selectively, leaving large areas of the paper visible and thus reinforcing the spontaneity of the whole.

The accumulation of the three heads creates a closed and dynamic composition. Their gazes intersect and are directed toward the viewer, while the bodies are practically reduced to large chromatic masses, concentrating all expressiveness in the hands and faces.

Visually, the work falls within an expressionist and grotesque figuration, close to the world of caricature, masks, and the fantastic bestiary developed by numerous European artists during the second half of the 20th century.

Technical Sheet

• Author: Montoya
• Title: Three Grotesque Faces
• Medium: Mixed media on paper, charcoal and pastel
• Dimensions: 45 × 32 cm
• Signature: Signed “MONTOYA” in the lower right corner
• Period: Second half of the 20th century
• Style: Figurative Expressionism / Grotesque Figuration
• Subject: Figures / Masks / Fantastic Bestiary
• Provenance: Private collection
• Condition: Good general condition, with slight signs of age consistent with the medium

Workshop Note

A work of marked graphic personality, in which distortion ceases to be merely caricaturesque to become an expressive vehicle.

The three characters seem to sit between the theatrical mask, the fantastic creature, and psychological representation. The frontal and exaggerated gaze of the figures creates an immediate relationship with the viewer, while the combination of black, blue, and reddish tones provides the composition with an unsettling and deliberately ambiguous atmosphere.