Antón cultivated the portrait genre and was very prolific in the creation of this type of work.
His portraits reached sculptural levels that were very close to reality, in terms of anatomy and expressions, as he captured both the physical and psychological features of the person portrayed. This is surely due to common emotional ties, since his models were always people he was close to: family, friends or neighbours would pose for him on their own initiative.
In this room you can admire several different pieces that fall into this theme, all very diverse in their compositional approach.
Made in cast bronze from the original plaster model that is kept in the Museum, here Antón portrays Óscar half-length, wearing a shirt; his face is turned to the right and he gazes downwards, expressing a subtle air of melancholy.
You can see the date and author’s signature in the lower left corner.
In this piece, made in cast bronze based on the original plaster model that the Museum conserves, Antón portrays Cuca Aja, a niece of his friend Jesús Aja, when she was two years old.
The sculpture takes a highly ornamental composition because of the child’s very curly ringlets and the ruffles of the dress that she is wearing.
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In “Primavera”, a cast bronze sculpture based on the original plaster model that is kept in the Museum, Antón portrays Encarnación Rodríguez Fernández, better known in Candás as “Ción”. To title this piece, he was inspired by her date of birth, March, the month spring begins, which he evokes with a bouquet of roses, also as an offering to the woman being portrayed.
The sculpture is formed through rounded shapes, which highlight the innocent expressiveness of the person being portrayed.
At the base of the piece, you can see the author’s signature and the date it was made. And the title of the piece in the centre.
Made in cast bronze from the original plaster model that is kept in the Museum, “Arrapiezo dormido” is the portrait of Remigio Serrano Rodríguez, a neighbour of Candás and a friend of Óscar. Remigio had actually gone to watch Óscar pose for Antón. One day, Remigio offered to pose for him properly, but the artist could not pay him, so they agreed that Antón would “piggyback” him to the pier from La Formiga, every day!
This sculpture marks the beginning of Antón’s artistic training in 1930. At the age of 19, he presented this piece at the “V Certamen Provincial de Trabajo” contest in the Asturian town of La Felguera, where he won the first prize and aroused the interest of the painter Evaristo Valle, who was part of the jury at the contest.
When he became aware of Antón’s need for funds to continue with his studies, Valle contacted the canning industrialist Alfonso Albo, who had a factory in Candás, to finance the sculptor’s artistic studies in Madrid.
At the base of the piece, you can see the author’s signature and the date it was made.
