Manolo Valdés - Menina
In partnership with Opera Gallery, Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg presents under the grand chandelier of the lobby, Reina Mariana, an iconic work by the artist Manolo Valdés.
2021 – Iron
Manolo Valdés
Born in Valencia in 1942, Manolo Valdés is one of the leading figures of contemporary Spanish art. Co-founder of the collective Equipo Crónica, he first made his mark with politically engaged painting before embarking on a solo career, boldly reinterpreting masterpieces of art history. From Velázquez to Matisse, and Picasso to Van Eyck, he revisits classical icons, giving them a striking modernity.
Based in New York since 1990, Valdés creates powerful works using raw materials such as iron, bronze, and marble. His monumental creations, exhibited in emblematic locations like Place Vendôme in Paris, dialogue with the world’s greatest museums, from the MoMA to the Centre Pompidou. Between painting and sculpture, Manolo Valdés builds a universal body of work where memory and innovation meet.
Reina Mariana
In the 1960s, during his first visits to the Prado Museum in Madrid, Manolo Valdés was profoundly struck by two masterpieces by Diego Velázquez: the Portrait of Mariana of Austria (1652–53) and Las Meninas (1656). These works became a constant source of inspiration, shaping an artistic journey in which Valdés has ceaselessly revisited this instantly recognizable female figure across an ever-expanding range of media.
The monumental Menina displayed in the hotel lobby reimagines Queen Mariana of Austria in life-size iron. Stripped of facial detail, the figure is nonetheless immediately identifiable through the iconic silhouette of the panniered gown and elaborate coiffure. By focusing on these attributes alone, Valdés underscores their symbolic weight: garments become armor, the markers of status transform into the very essence of identity. The absence of the face prompts a meditation on portraiture itself—suggesting that behind the sumptuous attire and the assertion of rank lies a fragile presence, eclipsed by the image of power she was meant to embody.
Through this major sculpture, guests are invited to engage with one of Valdés’s emblematic creations. Its presence resonates with the history of the setting: once a haven for royalty at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the hotel later became a gathering place for leading figures of artistic modernity.
Extend your visit with a L’Infante or La Reine cocktail at the Bar du Faubourg.
Opera Gallery Paris
62, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré – 75008 Paris
T +33 (0)1 42 96 39 00
paris@operagallery.com
Monday – Saturday: 10 am – 7 pm – Please do not hesitate to contact our Concierges to arrange your visit.
“The Opera Gallery adventure began almost 30 years ago, in 1994, when our two first exhibition spaces opened simultaneously in Paris and in Singapore with the aim of showing international emerging artists alongside masters of Contemporary and Modern Art. Thanks to an incredible community of collectors, artists, supporters and my outstanding Opera Gallery staff, we have, along the years, expanded to include now sixteen locations around the world: in New York, Miami, Miami Bal Harbour, Aspen, London, Monaco, Geneva, Dubai, Beirut, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and Madrid.
We present work across all media including painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography and video and we seek to cultivate the lineages that run between emerging and established artists. We represent over twenty international young and emerging artists such as Andy Denzler, Fred Eerdekens or Anthony James and more established artists such as Manolo Valdés, Fernando Botero, Juan Genovés or André Brasilier. We also deal in private sales on the secondary market informed by decades of connoisseurship and we are proud to have placed historically significant works by artists such as Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Pierre Soulages, Alexander Calder, Jean Dubuffet, Fernando Botero and many more.
Since our inception, we have strived to offer museums, foundations and art collectors unique access to an incredible selection of Modern and Contemporary artists through an exciting programme of curated exhibitions in each of our locations and in high profile art fairs. In addition to the exhibitions, we are fully dedicated in working closely with our collectors to build their collections, locating works of art, and providing art advisory services. The gallery also facilitates museum exhibitions, special projects, and commissions of large-scale, site-specific sculptures for both public and private collections. We are fully dedicated to bringing with integrity and discretion only the best of Modern and Contemporary works to each of our collectors.”
Gilles Dyan
Opera Gallery, Founder & chairman
