JOSÉ MASRIERA MANOVENS (Barcelona, 1841 - 1912).
"Landscape.
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 69 x 105 cm.
Painter and silversmith, he began his artistic training in the workshop of his father, Josep Masriera Vidal. Then he enters the School of Fine Arts of La Lonja of Barcelona, where he receives the influence of the landscape painter Luis Rigalt, to finally complete his studies in Paris. As a painter he dedicated himself to detailed landscapes, usually inspired by the surroundings of San Andrés de Llavaneras, in the province of Barcelona. He participated in exhibitions in Barcelona, Madrid, Zaragoza, Munich, Berlin and many other cities. His successive trips to Paris brought him into contact with the different tendencies of French landscape painting, and he soon achieved success thanks to the works he presented at the International Exhibition in Paris (third medal) and at the National Fine Arts Exhibitions in Madrid (third medal in 1878 and 1897) and in Barcelona (first medal in 1909). He was an academician of Sciences and Arts (1873) and of the Fine Arts of Sant Jordi, and presided over the Artistic Circle. He published biographies of Catalan artists of the generation before his own, such as Luis Rigalt, Claudio Lorenzale and Francisco Miquel, as well as works on aesthetics such as "Influencia del estilo japonés en las artes europeas" (1885). He is represented in the Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña and the Museo del Prado among others, as well as in important international private collections.
FRANCISCO MASRIERA Y MANOVENS (Barcelona, 1842-1902).
"Lady". 1880.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the central left part.
Golden frame with some faults.
Measurements: 33 x 21 cm; 43 x 31,5 cm (frame).
Masriera, one of the greatest Catalan portraitists of his time, always put special interest in the feminine figure. Here, a young woman wearing a felt hat adorned with feathers seems to want to hide her face behind the fluffy cloud formed by the fur stole wrapped in her hands. Her silhouette is carved in a burgundy velvet dress, her graceful curves are cut out against a gray background. Her feet disappear under a blanket of white flowers and she almost seems to float, which gives her an ethereal and carnal essence at the same time.
Spanish painter, writer and goldsmith, he began his training in the jewelry workshop of his father José María Masriera and in that of José Serra y Porson. Always concerned about improving and approaching new horizons, he refined his technique after traveling to Geneva where he learned the enamel process, which will be one of the main hallmarks of his goldsmith designs. As for his facet as a painter, there is evidence that he traveled to Paris for the first time in 1865, where he went to Cabanel's workshop. On repeated occasions he visited the French capital, the epicenter of the artistic modernity of the time, where he acquired first-hand the rapid brushstrokes, luminosity and vivid chromatism of the first impressionists, features that can be seen in this magnificent painting. As can also be seen in the work presented here, Masriera had the ability to combine the freshness of the new plastic trends emerging in Paris at the time, with the long neoclassical tradition marked by the Academy: a careful dedication to drawing, the care of the composition and the rigorous study of the old masters. In fact, there is evidence that in the Louvre he devoted himself to copying the main works in order to acquire the mastery of the classics, and in Paris he participated in the Universal Exhibitions of 1867, 1878 and 1889. There is also evidence of his trips to Rome, where he began to paint Orientalist canvases. As a writer and columnist he collaborated in the magazine El Recuerdo. In Spain, he won the second medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1878 for the work entitled La esclava, and also exhibited his works at the Bosch Gallery in Madrid in 1882 and at the Sala Parés in Barcelona in 1889. As we observe in this exquisite painting, Masriera's technique is characterized by the perfection of the drawing, the careful composition and a color full of strength and luminosity, which is manifested especially in the iridescence of the canvases. He stood out for his preciousness full of fantasy, as well as for the freshness of his colors.
JOAN ABELLÓ PRAT (Mollet del Vallés, Barcelona, 1922 - Barcelona, 2008).
"The astrologer". "Época Negra", 1957.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Signed, dated and titled on the back.
Measurements: 115 x 81 cm; 132 x 97 cm (frame).
Painter and engraver, Joan Abelló begins his formation in a self-taught way, having in his first paintings a great influence the works that Joaquín Mir realized in Mollet. He then studied at the Baixas Academy and at the Royal Artistic Circle of Barcelona (1941), and later became a disciple of Pere Pruna, working for two years in his studio (1944-46). Pruna taught him mural and engraving techniques, and he also learned restoration in Miracle's studio. In 1945 he exhibited his work in Barcelona for the first time, and the following year he began working in the studio of Carlos Pellicer, with whom he worked for fourteen years. He completed his studies with trips to London, Belgium, Paris and the Isle of Man, among other places. In the sixties he returned to his native town, where he again became interested in the landscapes of the Vallés and the Mediterranean, although he did not abandon his extensive travels through Europe, Africa, the Ivory Coast, Morocco and Brazil. An outstanding collector, in 1996 he donated his art collection to the City Council of Mollet, which created the Joan Abelló Municipal Museum three years later. Attached to the museum is the artist's birthplace, which since 2002 has housed a restoration workshop and center for artistic studies. Abelló began his career developing a certain impressionist tendency, to start in the late forties in post-impressionism without losing links with his initial language, always with an explosion of colors applied with violent brushstrokes. Years later his style will evolve, practicing a more material painting under the influence of informalism, and accentuating his expressionism without ever leaving figuration. From 1940, the year in which he held his first exhibition in his hometown, even before moving to Barcelona to study, Abelló held exhibitions in Spain, London, Paris, New York and Moscow. In 2002 he was appointed member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi. He is represented in the Museum that bears his name, as well as in the MACBA in Barcelona, the Courtauld Collection in London, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the Vatican Museum, the Poldersmuseum in Belgium and the Francesc Galí Legacy.
FEDERICO DE MADRAZO Y KUNTZ (Rome, 1815 - Madrid, 1894).
"Portrait of the II Marquis of Viluma", 1837.
Oil on canvas.
It has slight damage to the frame.
Signed and dated in the lower right area.provenance: Viluma and Cheste Collections, Madrid and private collection, Segovia.
Measurements: 87 x 71 cm; 110 x 93 cm (frame).
Work exhibited in:
- Madrid, 1837, San Fernando Academy.
Bibliography:
- González López, Carlos; Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz, Madrid, 1981, pp. 141, cat. no. 32.
- González López, Carlos; Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz. Aportaciones al catálogo, Madrid, 1995, pp. 12-13, cat. no. 32. - Díez García, José Luis; Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz (1815-1894), Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1994, p. 62. - Ochoa, Eugenio de, Galería de Españoles Célebres Contemporáneos, vol. VI, Madrid, 1841-1846.
In this portrait of the II Marquis of Viluma, Madrazo shows his artistic quality and skill. In spite of being a work that belongs to an early period of the painter, it is possible to appreciate a great elegance, rotundity and sobriety in the physical and psychological capture of the protagonist. The work follows the models of the time imposed in the portrait genre. Upright and slightly turned in three quarters, the marquis directs his gaze towards the viewer showing pride, but not arrogance. As usual, the background is neutral without the presence of any element that detracts from the main figure, also both the chromatic range based on a palette of dark tones, as well as the lighting used by Madrazo provide greater aesthetic relevance to the protagonist, since the only points of light are his pink face, the collar of his shirt and slightly the sleeve and the glow of the Cross of Calatrava and the Grand Cross of Carlos III, hanging on his chest. The relationship of the protagonist with Madrazo was established through the portrayed's parents; Ángela Ceballos Olarria and Joaquín González de La Pezuela, Marquis of Viluma and Virey of Peru, who had already been portrayed by the artist a year before.
Son of the painter José de Madrazo, who was also in Rome at the service of Charles IV in exile, Federico de Madrazo moved with his family to Madrid when his father was appointed painter of Fernando VII's chamber in 1819. Shortly thereafter, the Royal Museum of Paintings was inaugurated, an institution that would be a key element in the life of Federico de Madrazo. During his childhood and youth he visited it frequently with his father, who was in fact responsible for the lithographic establishment of the museum from 1826, and its director between 1838 and 1857. A precocious painter, Federico de Madrazo was admitted as an academician of merit in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando when he was only sixteen years old. During these years of youth he founded with his brother Pedro the magazine "El Artista", which was an important romantic novelty, and in which Federico was in charge of the illustrations. In 1832 he went to Paris to study painting with Ingres, a friend of his father. There he acquired a romantic style in the French manner. In 1840 he continued his training in Rome, where he came into contact with the Nazarenes and, in particular, with Overbeck, which strengthened his drawing skills, already important in his style thanks to what he had learned from his father and Ingres. An illustrative work about this Nazarene influence in Madrazo is "Las Marías en el sepulcro". Two years later he returned to Spain, becoming a painter of great prestige, much sought after as a portrait painter by the aristocracy of Madrid. Chamber painter to Queen Isabella II, he was the great official portraitist of the time. His portraits were characterized by the simplicity and naturalness of his models, and by a distant serenity, intimately linked to the romantic feeling. He was also director of the Prado Museum, a position he held, albeit interrupted, for thirty years until his death. He also directed the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. He developed a brilliant career as a history painter and, especially, as a portrait painter, achieving great prestige in the artistic circles not only in Madrid, but also in Paris and Rome. His production evolves from a painting where the purism of the line and the careful detailing predominate towards a more fluid and spontaneous technique, of greater expressive depth. Federico de Madrazo is currently represented in the Prado Museum, the National Museum of the Palace of Versailles, the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao, the Lázaro Galdiano Foundation and the Romantic Museum in Madrid, among others.
Work exhibited in:
- Madrid, 1837, San Fernando Academy.
Bibliography:
- González López, Carlos; Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz, Madrid, 1981, pp. 141, cat. no. 32.
- González López, Carlos; Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz. Aportaciones al catálogo, Madrid, 1995, pp. 12-13, cat. no. 32. - Díez García, José Luis; Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz (1815-1894), Madrid,
DIONÍS BAIXERAS VERDAGUER (Barcelona, 1862 - 1943).
"Fisherman".1906.
Oil on canvas adhered to board.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 35 x 27 cm; 53 x 45 cm (frame).
Disciple in the School of the Fish market of Martí Alsina and, mainly, of Antonio Caba, during his years of student Baixeras received the nickname of "the medals", due to his facility to win the contests. He exhibited for the first time in 1882, at the Sala Parés in Barcelona, and four years later he traveled to Paris, where he was enthusiastic about the peasant-themed realism of Millet and Bastien-Lepage. During these years he won awards at the Fine Arts Exhibitions of Madrid (1884, third medal) and Paris (1886, honorable mention). Back in Barcelona he made great compositions of historical character, like those of the auditorium of the university (1888), those of the seminary (1904, destroyed in 1936) and those of the dome of the hall of Sant Jordi of the Generalitat (1928). In 1907 he made a series of drawings of documentary type, focused on the representation of the corners of Barcelona that would disappear with the construction of the Via Layetana, which earned him a prize from the City Council. In 1926 he joined the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi, and was linked to the Artistic Circle of Sant Lluc since its foundation. During his last years he wrote some interesting memoirs, the original manuscript of which is currently preserved in the Academy of Sant Jordi. Baixeras devoted himself mainly to naturalistic painting, with marine or rural themes, in works that show a certain influence of the school of Olot. He meticulously elaborated his works in the workshop, so his previous drawings have much more freshness and interest. In 1908 he made a collection of drawings, of great documentary value, of places in old Barcelona that were to disappear during the construction of the Via Layetana. His work is preserved in the Metropolitan of New York, the Museum of Art and Industry of Roubaix (France) and the MACBA, among others.
JOSEP MARIA RIERA I ARAGÓ (Barcelona, 1954).
"From the window".
Mixed media (watercolor and ink) on paper.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Presents some very slight rust stain.
Measurements: 15 x 11 cm; 29 x 29 cm (frame).
Painter and sculptor, Josep Riera i Aragó was formed in the Superior School of Fine Arts of Barcelona. He made his individual debut in 1981, at the Artema gallery in Barcelona. Two years later he participated in the Salón de Otoño of the same city, and since then he has shown his work all over the world, in outstanding galleries in Spain, Mexico, Holland, Israel, Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Colombia and the United States. His solo exhibitions have been held at the Museum of Ceret (France, 1989), the National Library of Paris (1993), the Museum of Modern Art in Oostende (Belgium, 1997), the Joan Prats Gallery in New York (1998), the Tassende Gallery in Los Angeles (2003) and the Museum of Aalst in Belgium (2006), among others. Since 1983, Riera i Aragó has developed his plastic discourse around machinism, with a symbolic language marked by an interest in air and maritime transport, which he contemplates decontextualized, separated from their original function. At the same time, his plastic language has been enriched by the deepening of the dialogue line/plane and empty/full. Never repetitive, each "machine" he creates evokes, without pathos or condescension, a clear and comprehensive vision of humanity. With a visual vocabulary limited to simple forms reminiscent of zeppelins, submarines or airplanes, Riera i Aragó develops a fertile iconography loaded with meaning that, endowed with a clear irony, speaks of the absurd recklessness of man's creations and the poetic justice that results when these creations turn against him. His work should be understood as a global story, which is related to languages as disparate as astronomy, botany, mathematics or mysticism, and which offers the viewer the possibility of entering a particular universe of great lyricism, where reality and fiction are no longer opposing categories. Riera i Aragó is currently represented in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, the Joan Miró, La Caixa and Vicent Van Gogh foundations, the Museum of Modern Art in Luxembourg, the Rufino Tamayo Museum in Mexico, the Ceret and Reattu Museum in Arles, France, the Otani Museum in Japan and the Heilbronn Museum in Germany, among many others.
AZEMA (Etienne, de l’île Bourbon)
-
Fables and various poems
Paris, France. Dondey - Dupré, père et fils, 1832.
In 8°. 4 ff. n. ch. 241 pages. Half morocco binding. Smooth spine, decorated with gilt irons and fleurons. Letter from the author on the title page, to Barbaroux, Procureur du Roi à Bourbon.
Ex libris Ryckebusch.
Ryckebusch I, 397 pages.
A rare counterpart to Chrétien's Bobre africain published in 1831, described in this catalog under no. 49.
BARASSIN (Jean)
-
Birth of Christianity. Bourbon, from its origins to 1714.
Saint Louis (Ile de la Réunion), Imprimerie Cazal and Paris, Maison Provinciale, 1953.
Large in 8°. Half-bound in brown basane. Spine ribbed, decorated with gilt fillets. Covers preserved. Photographic illustrations, plans, etc. 448 pages.
Letter from the author on the title page.
Ex libris Ryckebusch
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