Noé CANJURA (1922 – 1970) The Embrace, 1950
A powerful and striking work by Salvadoran painter Noé Canjura depicting a couple embracing. An intimate subject of great emotional power.
Oil on canvas

Signed and dated 1950 lower left

Dimensions: 115 x 66 cm

Titled Abrazo and signed on the back
Noé Canjura, from El Salvador to Paris
Noé Canjura is an icon in El Salvador, representing the greatest movement in the Fine Arts school of his generation. He also symbolizes the human capacity for reinvention and transforms a humble, barefoot young student into a powerful creator of his own existence.

Canjura's painting is a synthesis of several influences that profoundly mark his character and his art. He composes powerfully, with numerous details while remaining very subtle; his simple color planes suggest a beginning of abstraction.
The embrace, an intimate subject of great emotional power
In our painting, the couple embraces with such tenderness and completeness that they become one. Their position speaks of loving union, of a feeling of eternity for this couple awaiting a child. A true ode to love!
One cannot help but think of Constantin Brancusi's sculpture The Kiss (1907) and see a correspondence with Gustav Klimt's famous painting The Kiss (1908), which has inspired many artists.
A sculptural work, stylized in a decorative format
This work is dated 1950. Noé Canjura had just arrived in Paris still steeped in the monumental paintings and murals of Diego Rivera and Latin American culture.
Biography
Noé Canjura was born in Apopa, a village in the Republic of El Salvador, in Central America, into a family of humble farmers.

They live in great poverty. To pay for part of his expenses and continue attending school, Canjura helps his father while working in a sawmill.
His talent for drawing was discovered at 17 and his adventure in the world of art began. He first studied painting at the Academy of the Spanish master Valero Lecha in San Salvador, the capital.
In early 1942, Canjura participated in exhibitions with Lecha's group throughout El Salvador. Later, he exhibited in Guatemala.
In 1948, he went to Mexico to continue his studies. There, he was strongly influenced by Diego Rivera, at the height of his fame. Gradually, Rivera's influence diminished, and Canjura turned to the art of Gauguin, from whom he learned the use of curves.

That year, Canjura held its first exhibition in the United States.
Life in Paris, 1949-1970
Canjura's career changed dramatically in 1949 when he came to Paris on a government scholarship. He studied at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts where he learned the fresco technique.
He was strongly attracted to and influenced by the work of Courbet and Le Nain. But he remained, nevertheless, attached to the subjects, colours and customs of his native country.
In 1953, Canjura held his first solo exhibition in Paris, and France became his adopted country. He then married Madeleine Bachelet, an artist like himself. They had a daughter, Leticia Canjura.

During a brief return to El Salvador in 1957, he saw his country with different eyes. It was from this moment that colors and light became an important part of his work.
Between 1959 and 1965, the City of Paris purchased four of his paintings for its permanent collection.
Parisian Salons
Canjura is a member of the "Société nationale des beaux arts" and a member of the "Salon de la jeune peinture". He exhibits regularly in important salons in Paris.
He also exhibits abroad, including in the United States.
Noe Canjura died in France, in Morienval, at the age of 48.
Museums
• Museum of the City of Paris

• National Museum of El Salvador

• Hamishka Leomanouth Museum in Ein Harod, Israel.
Source
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noe_Canjura#.