56 - PERE CRÉIXAMS PICÓ (Barcelona, 1893–1965).

PERE CRÉIXAMS PICÓ (Barcelona, 1893–1965). “Peasant Women.” Oil on canvas. There is a patch on the back. Signed in the lower right corner. Measurements: 100 x 81 cm; 122 x 103 cm (frame). “Campesinas” is an interesting example of Pere Créixams’s most expressive style. The work brings together some of the most recognizable elements of his artistic universe, such as his fascination with ordinary people, his sensitivity toward female figures, his intense use of color, and a brushstroke marked by great freedom and personality. The composition also reveals the influence of Isidre Nonell’s expressive realism, evident in the rendering of the faces, the atmospheric density, and the focus on ordinary people—elements that Créixams assimilates through a much more colorful personal sensibility. A self-taught painter, Créixams began his career as a cabinetmaker and typographer. In 1918, he traveled to Paris and, coming into contact with the artistic scene in Montmartre, decided to devote himself to painting. In the French capital, he was part of the School of Paris and exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants (1922), the Salon d’Automne (1925), and the Tuileries. He also illustrated works by Rimbaud, Verlaine, Baudelaire, Max Jacob, and Cocteau. He returned to Barcelona in 1927 and participated in the last exhibition of the Evolutionists. In 1936, he resettled in Paris but continued to exhibit regularly in Barcelona. Influenced by Nonell, his favorite subject was always the human figure. Pere Créixams Picó’s work is currently represented at MACBA, the Petit Palais in Geneva, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, and other European and American museums.