Cuenca (Spain)

Saura, Antonio (b Huesca, 22 Sept. 1930; d Cuenca, 22 July 1998). Spanish painter, draughtsman, and printmaker, active mainly in Madrid. He was self-taught and began painting during a long illness in 1947. His early work was Surrealist and while he was living in Paris from 1953 to 1955 he met the founder of the movement, André Breton. Back in Spain, however, he quickly abandoned Surrealism for a violently expressive semi-abstract style that has been seen as one of the most forceful protests against the Franco regime (his sudden change of direction was partly inspired by the brutal suppression of student demonstrations soon after his return to Madrid). The stormy atmosphere and thickly textured figures in his work create a feeling of tortured humanity (Great Crucifixion, 1963, Boymans Mus., Rotterdam).

Cuenca city (1990 pop. 43,209), capital of Cuenca prov., E central Spain, in Castile-La Mancha, at the confluence of the Huecar and Júcar rivers, c.3,000 ft (910 m) above sea level. This historic town retains its medieval character in the narrow streets, clustered houses, and bridges; the modern, industrial section (timber trade, furniture, pottery, paper, leather), called Curretaria, extends onto the Huecar plain. The city is known for the spectacular sight of its houses projected above the abyss of the Huecar river. It was taken (1177) from the Moors by Alfonso VIII of Castile. Cuenca was badly damaged in the Peninsular War and the Second Carlist War. It has a notable Gothic cathedral (begun 13th cent.). Nearby is the Ciudad Encantada [enchanted city], a fantastic labyrinth of eroded rocks.