124 - Spanish School, 20th century.

Spanish School, 20th century. Landscape. Oil on canvas. Measurements: 50 x 60 cm; 63 x 73 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. A winding path runs through the center of the composition, leading the viewer from an inclusive foreground to a blurred horizon, where a few blue mountains can be made out. The path is flanked by thickets and tall trees, covered in green leaves. The technique undoubtedly draws on Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and Fauvist contributions to the treatment of atmosphere, brushwork, and color. Thus, the artist employs a tonal range that is not strictly realistic, using, for example, bluish tones superimposed over carmine for the shadows that undulate along the path. The brushwork, on the other hand, is free and light, applied in small strokes that overlap without blending.