160 - Catalan School, 20th century.

Catalan School, 20th century. Wooded landscape. Oil on canvas. Signed “F. Serrano” in the lower right corner. Measurements: 32 x 45 cm; 44 x 57 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 dense undergrowth of a forest, as well as the tree trunks, occupy practically the entire composition. The painter employs a low viewpoint, leaving no room for the sky, and constructs the composition through the chromatic contrast of browns, greens, and yellows, which create the illusion of perspective. The spontaneous and expressive brushwork, as well as the highly saturated color, is undoubtedly inspired by the artistic contributions of the Post-Impressionists—from Van Gogh to Gauguin—later reworked by Fauvist painters such as Matisse and German Expressionism.