LORENZO GOÑI AND CAMILO JOSÉ CELA’S «GAME»

Lorenzo Goñi (Jaen, 1911- Lausanne, Switzerland, 1992) was one of the most remarkable illustrators of the second half of the XX^th century. In his long career he made thousands of drawings —for books, newspapers and magazines—, especially for ABC and Blanco y Negro where he published 2,000 illustrations. These works made him a popular artist in Spain, as he became one of the hallmarks of ABC and Blanco y Negro.

His relationship with the Nobel prizewinner Camilo José Cela (Galicia, 1916-Madrid, 2002) dates from the forties when he illustrated the book Pabellón de reposo [Rest Home], 1943. This moment was the beginning of a long collaboration and a lifetime friendship. Cela considered Goñi the best illustrator of his texts.

The harmony between the author and the artist is plain to see in the selection of 51 drawings displayed in the exhibition. They were published in the «El juego de los tres madroños» [The game of the three arbutus], a section in the newspaper ABC that lasted from 1979 to 1982 and was formed by more than 300 illustrated articles. This was the last occasion where they collaborated and it is a clear example of the bright perceptiveness and the expertise mastery of Goñi to translate in drawings Cela’s witticisms.