82 - JOSEP SERRASANTA (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1916 – Valldoreix, Barcelona, 1998).

JOSEP SERRASANTA (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1916 – Valldoreix, Barcelona, 1998). “Village with Figures.” Oil on canvas. Signed in the lower left corner. There are slight losses of paint in the upper left corner. Measurements: 46 x 56 cm; 60 x 69.5 cm (frame). Born to Catalan parents, Serrasanta lived in Catalonia from childhood. There, he studied at the La Lonja School of Arts and Crafts and completed his training as a disciple of Francesc Gimeno. He worked in landscape, still life, figure painting, and mural painting. In the latter field, he created decorations in various Catalan churches using tempera, fresco, or oil, most notably the murals he painted in the Church of Santa María de Castelldefels, as well as the three domes of Lleida Cathedral. He held a solo exhibition in Tarrasa and, later, at the Augusta Galleries in Barcelona in 1950. He also held solo exhibitions on several occasions in Madrid, Bilbao, Valencia, Paris, and various cities in the United States and Japan. His work, rooted in traditional concepts, is characterized by his energetic use of the palette knife and his vibrant use of color. In 1964, he won the Cannes International Grand Prize, and the French government later awarded him the Grand Croix du Commandeur au Mérite National Française.