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(b Cartagena, Colombia, 1920). Colombian painter, sculptor, printmaker, film maker and stage designer. He studied at the Art Students League in New York from 1941 to 1943 and subsequently visited Italy, where he studied fresco and etching techniques at the Accademia San Marco from 1995-1956 before settling again in Colombia. Consistently devoted to the human form, he initially depicted geometrically abstract paintings and figures with angular heads and striped tunics in a strong light, with symbolic objects such as eggs, masks or cages. In such later paintings as Boy with Umbrella (1964) Grau's figures were transformed into plump, fleshy and voluptuous beings, richly arrayed with lace, feathers, hats and fans, like characters taken from the theatre or from popular turn-of-the-century postcards. His scenes were gradually filled with anecdotal details and numerous objects, including cupboards, easels, boxes, masks and flowers, through which he suggested emotionally charged atmos
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