48 - RICARD MARTÍ AGUILÓ (Barcelona, 1857–1935).

RICARD MARTÍ AGUILÓ (Barcelona, 1857–1935). "Seascape." Oil on canvas. Signed in the lower right corner. In good overall condition. Shows some cracking consistent with its age. Measurements: 44 × 63 cm; 47 × 65.5 cm (frame). Provenance: Family bequest of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. An art and heritage collection originating from the legacy of the Catalan painters Ramon Martí Alsina (1826–1894), a key figure in 19th-century Catalan realism, and his son Ricard Martí Aguiló (1857–1935). Passed down and enriched over successive generations, the collection brings together works from the original estates of both artists, along with new acquisitions made by their descendants. They remained particularly dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the family legacy, acquiring works by the painters themselves as they came onto the market and gradually expanding the collection with paintings, sculptures, archaeological artifacts, and other objects of artistic and historical interest. The atmospheric intensity and the drama of the cloud cover encapsulate some of the most characteristic features of Ricard Martí Aguiló’s seascapes, a genre that held a significant place in his body of work. The composition is organized around the hull of a boat stranded among the rocks, whose dark mass is a hallmark of the cool luminosity of the water and the dense, turbulent clouds in the sky. Ricard Martí Aguiló, son and disciple of Ramon Martí Alsina, developed a realistic style of painting closely linked to his father’s teachings, focusing on landscape, seascape, portraiture, and still life. In 1891, he participated with three oil paintings in the General Exhibition of Fine Arts in Barcelona. That same year, he painted the Portrait of Narcís Monturiol, which is currently part of the Gallery of Illustrious Catalans at the Barcelona History Museum. He won a gold medal at the “Plants and Flowers” exhibition (1895), a bronze medal at the 1896 Barcelona Exhibition, and a second medal at the Spanish National Exhibition held in Mexico in 1910; he also participated in the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition.