Francisco Bores (Madrid, 1898- Paris, 1972) is one of the most important and unique artists in contemporary Spanish painting. At all times throughout his career as a painter he was in the spotlight, and way ahead of his Spanish and foreign contemporaries. During his youth he found his place in the rich environment of the so-called Edad de Plata, the Silver Age of Spanish Culture. It was extremely connected to the Residencia de Estudiantes, which was the unavoidable meeting point of artists and thinkers. Towards the end of 1925, Bores abandoned Madrid and settled in France, where he lived for the most part of his life and where he became one of the main figures of the so-called School of Paris.

It has often been precisely noted that Francisco Bores cannot be associated with any movement. The alignment with Impressionism, Cubism or Fauvism could serve as a starting point for the critical explanation of his work, but it would always be insufficient and incomplete. Bores' sensitive and rigorous art was fuelled by the modern avant-gardes to develop an unmistakable style of its own that stands out for its exquisite treatment of colour, the reflection of an apparently simple intimacy and a powerful evocative ability. Bores was a painter of a specific time who built a very personal world with the plastic instruments of his historical moment. Over time he gained excellence until he became, as Juan Ramón Jiménez had stated in 1931, a classic of contemporary art.

Commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of his death, this exhibition portrays Francisco Bores' artistic career, from his beginnings in Madrid in the 1920s and his later production once settled in France, to his death in 1972. It contains over a hundred of Bores' works, including oils, drawings and engravings, and is presented together with other works made by other artists of the avant-garde in Madrid, such as Benjamín Palencia, Alberto Sánchez, Roberto Fernández Balbuena, José Moreno Villa or Gabriel García Maroto. It features the collaboration of institutions such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Madrid or the Biblioteca Nacional de España , as well as private collections and the own funds of the Residencia de Estudiantes, which contains an ample collection of drawings, engravings and illustrations of his first period. This display is an excellent occasion to examine the artistic production of one of the most notable contemporary Spanish painters through works that are rarely shown to the public.