Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Palazuelo died on Wednesday in Madrid at the age of 90.
Immediately after the news of his death, Spanish Culture Minister Cesar Antonio Molina said Palazuelo was "one of the most important figures in abstract art of the second half of the 20th century" and that his death constitutes "a great loss for the world", Spanish news agency EFE reported.
Palazuelo, born on Oct 6, 1916, studied architecture in Madrid and later at Oxford before deciding to fully devote himself to painting in 1939.
In 1948 he arrived in Paris on a French government scholarship and exhibited his first abstract drawings.
Palazuelo was very influenced by artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian and, above all, by Paul Klee, his favourite painter in his early years.
He produced his first sculpture in 1954 and, and left sculpting for several years due to lack of interest from his art gallery owner in Paris.
Palazuelo won numerous awards during his artistic career, including the Velazquez Prize for Plastic Arts in 2004; he was also named co-recipient of the National Plastic Arts Prize in 1999, along with sculptor Cristina Iglesias.