169 - MIQUEL ARNAU (Barcelona, 1960).

MIQUEL ARNAU (Barcelona, 1960). Untitled. Oil on canvas. Signed in the lower right corner. Measurements: 80 x 80 cm; 82.5 x 82.5 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. Miquel Arnau is a painter and art restorer, and his career is deeply rooted in his heritage and the rural landscape where he grew up. From a young age, he developed an interest in painting, which eventually became his professional calling. In 1974, he began his practical training as an apprentice in Josep Maria Xarrié Rovira’s restoration workshop, where he worked on works from different periods and styles. In 1975, he studied academic drawing at the academy of Ramon Sanvisens i Marfull, and in 1977, he began his studies in Fine Arts, where his professors included Jaume Muxart Domènech, Joan Hernández Pijuan, and Lluís Doñate. He later worked in the Restoration Department of the Generalitat de Catalunya at the monastery of Sant Cugat before establishing his own restoration workshop. As a painter, he began by drawing inspiration from the landscapes and surroundings of Argentona, gradually evolving from a realistic style toward a more personal and expressive language, featuring elements of abstraction, intense colors, and energetic brushstrokes. Throughout his career, he has participated in solo and group exhibitions, including *Por los alrededores de Argentona* (2005), *Esse est percipi* (2013), *Decipimur specie recti* (2014), *Ad astra per aspera* (2021), and *Locus et Lucus* (2023), presented at the Museu del Càntir in Argentona. In 2020, she won second prize in the 5th Painting and Sculpture Competition at the Museu Arxiu in Sant Andreu de Llavaneres.