87 - English School, late 19th century.

English School, late 19th century. River landscape. Oil on canvas. Measurements: 27 x 49.5 cm; 29.5 x 55 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. The painter presents us with a sweeping panorama of a pleasant river landscape. The fast-flowing river meanders peacefully through the English countryside, alongside banks carpeted with vegetation where a few trees typical of wetlands stand tall. The artist employs a well-balanced color palette, based on grays, silvers, and greens, with touches of ochre, earth tones, and sienna, which add a warm touch to a landscape otherwise bathed in a delicate silvery light. The style, in which brushwork and color are subordinate to the drawing, places the work within the late 19th-century English school—eminently realistic, though, under Impressionist influence, increasingly focused on capturing light and atmosphere.