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Description

APELES MESTRES OÑÓS (Barcelona, 1854 - 1936). "Peace and progress". Oil on canvas. Signed and titled in the lower right corner. Measurements: 75 x 102 cm; 94 x 220 cm (frame). The painting that we show has a great artistic, documentary and historiographic value. The Catalan painter Apeles Mestres displays here his particular mastery to compose a multitudinous and celebratory scene, a popular celebration before an anecdotal but significant event, the inauguration of the Monument to Peace that was erected at the end of what would be the Ramblas de Santa Monica, in Barcelona, in the year 1876. It was erected in the place now occupied by the monument to Columbus. The city council wanted to celebrate peace in a symbolic way, after the third and bloody Carlist war. Antoni Rovira i Trias was in charge of the monument, presided over by a female allegory flanked by lions on a staircase. Flags of Spain and Catalonia coexist in harmony. Men and women with barratinas dance sardanas, others carry bundles of straw. They are probably going to light a bonfire in honor of peace. In the distance, boats can be seen approaching the port and, on the other side, several chimneys are smoking. Children are running around. One is doing the vertical on his hands and his friends are singing. A group of men are waving flags. The anecdote is juicy and immense. A blue sky, without a cloud, enhances the colors of popular joy. Writer, cartoonist, painter, cartoonist and musician, Apelles Mestres was invested in 1908 with the title of Mestre en Gai Saber. He was also decorated with the Cross of the Legion of Honor of the French government (1920) and with the Gold Medal of the city of Barcelona. Apeles Mestresa (Barcelona, October 29, 1854-Barcelona, July 19, 1936) was a Spanish writer and cartoonist, notable figure of Catalan literature and precursor of the comic strip. Mestres, a multifaceted artist who cultivated poetry, music and theater, collaborated with cartoons in the periodical press of the time in addition to being a prolific illustrator of books. Progressive and linked to republicanism at certain stages of his life, he opposed the most conservative sectors of the Catalan literary scene, of which Mestres is considered a notable figure.

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APELES MESTRES OÑÓS (Barcelona, 1854 - 1936).

Estimate 8 000 - 9 000 EUR
Starting price 4 400 EUR

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FRANCESC SERRA CASTELLET (Barcelona, 1912 - Tossa, Girona, 1976). "Female nude". Oil on tablex. Presents sketch on the back. Signed in the lower right corner. Measurements: 60 x 83 cm; 74 x 97 cm (frame). Painter and draftsman, Francesc Serra spent his youth in Granollers, Barcelona. Although he passed fleetingly through the School of La Lonja in Barcelona, he is basically a self-taught author. He had his first exhibition in 1932, at the Sala Parés in Barcelona, and participated in the Salones de Primavera between 1934 and 1936. In 1936 and 1937 he was a special guest of the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, United States. He continued to hold individual exhibitions in Barcelona, mainly at the Sala Gaspar. A great admirer of Degas, he was especially influenced by his favorite theme, the feminine. Sporadically he also tackled other themes, such as the urban landscape, of which the series of Paris, presented in 1951, is worth mentioning. Likewise, with his portraits of the lead mine he approached the sensitive realism of Ingres. He won several awards, including the Sant Jordi of Barcelona (1953) and the first medals at the National Exhibitions of Madrid (1957) and Barcelona (1960). He collected several unpublished drawings under the title "Dibujos de Serra" (1973), with a prologue by Santos Torroella. Determined defender of realism in art and of traditional figuration against the avant-garde, he published the essay "La aventura del arte contemporáneo" (1953), with a prologue by Rafael Benet. He is represented in the Museums of Modern Art of Madrid and Barcelona and in the Museums of Fine Arts of l'Empordà and Sabadell.

RAMÓN CALSINA BARÓ (Barcelona, 1901 - 1992). "The living sculpture". Pencil on paper. Signed in the lower left corner. Measurements: 31 x 38 cm; 53 x 60 cm (frame). After initiating his formation in the Baixas Academy of Barcelona, Calsina enters in 1920 in the School of La Lonja, where he was a disciple of Feliu Mestres. He made his individual debut in 1930 at the Sala Parés, and the following year he exhibited his works in Paris. Of special importance were the anthologies he held in Barcelona in 1957 and 1966. His style, close to magical realism, is precise and stylized, often ironic and full of unusual or fantastic details. It also reveals certain influences of Goya, Daumier and Hogarth. As a draughtsman he made illustrations, posters and stained glass windows. He designed the costumes and scenery for the play "El casament de la Xela", by Xavier Berenguel (1938). Between 1931 and 1933 he collaborated with the German magazine "Der Querschnitt". He also illustrated novels, such as "Don Quixote" and the works of Edgar Allan Poe. In 1964 he won the Ynglada-Guillot international drawing prize, and in 1990 he was awarded the Cross of Sant Jordi. In 1984 a large group of poets, writers, artists and intellectuals made a social appeal for the recognition of Calsina, as a result of which the Caja de Ahorros de Barcelona, with the collaboration of the Generalitat de Catalunya, dedicated an anthological exhibition to him. In 1990 another one was held at the Centro Conde Duque in Madrid, with the collaboration of the City Council. He is represented in several Spanish museums, as well as in important private collections. In 2009 the Ramón Calsina Foundation was created, promoted by his heirs.

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