20 - Santiago Rusiñol (Barcelona, 1861 – Aranjuez, Madrid, 1931)

Santiago Rusiñol (Barcelona, 1861 – Aranjuez, Madrid, 1931) “Landscape.” Oil on panel. Signed in the lower left corner. Measurements of the artwork: 16 × 26 cm. With frame: 24 × 33.5 cm. A strip of orange light holds together the composition of this landscape by Santiago Rusiñol. Between the browns of the land and the bluish-gray of the sky, the glow marks the distance of the horizon and gives character to the entire scene. The broad brushstrokes and the focus on a fleeting effect of light give the panel the immediacy of a landscape sketch. In this open composition—distinct from the garden scenes that brought him fame—one can recognize Rusiñol’s interest in atmosphere and his ability to make it the subject of the painting. A painter, writer, and collector, Rusiñol was a central figure in Catalan Modernism. He painted in Olot in 1888, and beginning in 1889, his stays in Paris accompanied his evolution from Naturalism to Symbolism. The exhibition he shared with Ramon Casas and Enric Clarasó at the Sala Parés in 1890 brought to Barcelona a style of painting that placed greater emphasis on atmosphere and everyday life. In Sitges, he turned the Cau Ferrat and the Modernist Festivals into a gathering place for painting, music, and theater. The young Picasso, who painted his portrait on several occasions, met Rusiñol when the latter was already a leading figure in Barcelona’s artistic scene. The exhibition *Jardins d’Espagne* at Siegfried Bing’s Art Nouveau gallery in Paris cemented his international reputation in 1899. He won first-place medals at the National Fine Arts Exhibitions of 1908, 1912, and 1929. His paintings are represented in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, the Museu del Cau Ferrat, the Museu de Montserrat, and the Banco de España Collection, among other major private collections.