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Espadrille Maker

Collection:	Trades in Bronze (Antonio Oteiza)
Author:	Fr. Antonio Oteiza
Inventory Number:	MCO-AO-ES-00064
Type:	Sculpture
Location:	Cataloguing Room
Characteristics:	Bronze sculpture with a broad horizontal composition featuring two seated figures at separate workstations. A small pile of finished espadrilles occupies the centre of the scene, identifying the trade while visually linking both craftsmen. Oteiza builds the figures through compact masses, angular planes and deeply carved voids, deliberately avoiding detailed facial features or anatomical realism. The patina combines dark browns, greens and blacks with warmer ochre and golden highlights, particularly visible on the work surfaces and the finished footwear. The sculpture is displayed on a rectangular polished cream-coloured marble base.
Artwork:	Click to enlarge
Audio Guide:
Description:	Rather than depicting a workshop as a simple setting, Antonio Oteiza transforms every element into part of the sculpture itself. The figures, their workbenches and the finished espadrilles are conceived as a single composition, where each form contributes to the balance of the whole. The two craftsmen face one another without interacting directly. Their postures suggest quiet concentration rather than movement or narrative action. Oteiza strips away individual identity, reducing the human body to essential volumes and bold structural forms. What remains is not the portrait of two specific people, but a timeless image of craftsmanship itself. At the centre of the composition lies a modest stack of espadrilles. Although small in scale, it plays a crucial visual role. It marks the purpose of the workshop and provides a subtle connection between both artisans. Its warmer tones stand out against the darker bronze of the surrounding figures, naturally drawing the viewer's attention to the product of many careful hours of work. As the sculpture is viewed from different angles, light begins to animate its interior spaces. Deep recesses, irregular surfaces and the gaps between the figures create shifting contrasts of light and shadow, allowing the composition to reveal new relationships from every viewpoint. With Espadrille Maker, Oteiza moves beyond the simple representation of a traditional trade. He reflects on the value of shared knowledge, the quiet dignity of manual work and the continuity of skills passed from one generation to the next. The sculpture reminds us that behind even the simplest handcrafted object lies time, experience and an enduring dialogue between human hands and their craft.

Works from the collection

Formworker

Formworker pays tribute to one of the essential trades in construction. Antonio Oteiza honours the craftsman who prepares the framework upon which every building takes shape. The sculpture reveals how skill, precision and quiet dedication become the true foundation of any enduring work.
Blacksmith

In Blacksmith, Antonio Oteiza captures the essence of craftsmanship at its most decisive moment. Rather than depicting the impact of the hammer, he focuses on the instant beforehand, when strength, skill and concentration come together. The sculpture becomes a tribute to manual knowledge and to the transformative power of human labour.
Writer

In Writer, Antonio Oteiza transforms the act of writing into sculptural matter. The figure, bent over his task, becomes closely integrated with a volume covered in signs and incisions that visually extend the act of writing. Rather than portraying a specific individual, the work evokes concentration, memory and the human impulse to turn experience into language.
Basket Weaver

In Basket Weaver, Antonio Oteiza transforms a traditional craft into a reflection on the relationship between human beings, materials, and skills learned through the hands. The figure bends over a large basket that becomes almost as important as the craftsman himself. Rather than simply depicting a task, the sculpture conveys concentration, craftsmanship, and the quiet dignity of everyday work.
Ashlar Stonemason

In Stone Mason, Antonio Oteiza pays tribute to one of humanity's oldest crafts. Rather than celebrating physical effort alone, the sculpture explores the quiet relationship between the mason and the stone, revealing the patience, skill and understanding required to shape raw material into architecture. The work becomes a reflection on craftsmanship as both knowledge and creation.
Mechanic

In Mechanic, Antonio Oteiza captures the decisive moment of work. The standing figure leans over a mechanical component, manipulating it with both hands. Every part of the body is directed toward this single point, where observation, movement and material come together.

The sculpture transforms an everyday task into a powerful reflection on concentration, craftsmanship and dedication to one's profession.
Photographer

In Photographer, Antonio Oteiza transforms a familiar profession into a quiet study of observation and anticipation. A small group of figures occupies one side of the relief, while the photographer leans over his camera on the other. Between them, a broad open space becomes the silent stage where the moment before the image is captured unfolds.
Grape Harvester

A woman carries the weight of the grape harvest on her shoulder. Antonio Oteiza turns this everyday gesture into a powerful image of endurance, balance and the deep bond between human labour and the land.
Teaching

A group of people listens attentively as one figure points towards a large surface in the background. In Teaching, Antonio Oteiza presents the transmission of knowledge as a human encounter shaped by attention, exchange and the willingness to learn.
Crosscut Sawyers

Two men work opposite one another with a long crosscut saw. Antonio Oteiza turns this demanding task into an image of shared effort: each worker’s strength becomes effective only when it falls into rhythm with the other.
Bullfighters. Paseíllo

Three bullfighters advance together during the solemn paseíllo. Antonio Oteiza captures the moment just before the bullfight begins, when ceremony, public scrutiny and an awareness of danger turn an orderly procession into a scene charged with inner tension.