33 - Catalan School of the mid-19th century

Catalan School of the mid-19th century “Sailboat on the Beach.” Oil on canvas. Measurements: 75 x 40 cm; 95 x 59 cm (frame). Provenance: Estate of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. Artistic and heritage collection originating in the legacy of Catalan painters Ramon Martí Alsina (1826–1894), a seminal figure of 19th-century Catalan Realism, and his son Ricard Martí Aguiló (1857–1935). Passed down and enriched across successive generations, the collection brings together works from the original holdings of both artists alongside acquisitions made by their descendants. Dedicated to preserving and recovering the family legacy, the descendants actively reacquired works by the painters as they entered the market, progressively expanding the collection to encompass paintings, sculptures, archaeological artifacts, and other items of artistic and historical significance. This work depicts a scene from the Mediterranean coast, featuring a fishing boat with a lateen sail moored near the shore, with several figures on board and a fisherman on the beach. In the background, other boats are silhouetted against the horizon beneath a sky of warm hues. The composition stands out for its pronounced vertical format, the prominence of the large sail, and the hallmarks of bluish tones in the sea and ochres and earth tones in the foreground. The loose brushwork and the atmospheric treatment of light lend the scene a naturalistic character. The painting is part of the tradition of late-19th-century Catalan maritime landscape painting, when numerous artists found inspiration in the beaches and fishing villages of the Mediterranean to depict everyday life and the coastal landscape. His pictorial language combines observation of nature with an evocative interpretation of the maritime atmosphere, closely aligned with the realist and luminist movements of the time.