House of the painter Julio Viera

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Memory · Subcategory: People

The painter Julio Viera was born in 1934 in the historic centre of the capital, although the neighbourhood of his childhood was San Cristóbal. He grew up in a small house from where the sea and the castle, which have been so present in his works, can be seen, as is evident from the plaque on its façade. This was the place where he had his first studio.

He dared to challenge Salvador Dalí and painted The Angel of the Canary Islands , a huge painting over three metres long, in just 45 minutes. Belgium, Rome, Paris, Berlin, Venice and Moscow witnessed his talent and hosted several of his renowned exhibitions. He travelled and created, created and travelled, and in the end, Palma de Mallorca was the place he chose to live. However, his hometown, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, has a strong presence in his work. The sea is one of the great protagonists of his works along with the Castle of San Cristóbal. He grew up, physically and artistically, in the fishing neighbourhood. There you can read a plaque that says: "In this house Julio Viera had his first workshop. Where he painted and sang to his San Cristóbal neighbourhood".

The artistic quality of Julio Viera, whose works The Black Christ and The Christ of the Atlantic are in the Paulina Pinacoteca of the Vatican, is inherent to his extraordinary intellectual capacity. The multifaceted creator has dabbled in literature, painted sets and backdrops, collaborated with publications such as the weekly Volcán , and many other media. Likewise, his facet as a composer and singer is recognised, a talent reflected in records recorded with record companies such as Pathé Marconi, Ducretet Thomson and Tepic.

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