Joan Cardona

JOAN CARDONA I LLADÓS (Barcelona, 1877–1957).
“Lady at Rest.”
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 85 x 93 cm; 107 x 115 cm (frame).

In this painting, Joan Cardona presents us with an image brimming with tenderness and delicate beauty. A young woman appears in the foreground, depicted on a large scale and occupying most of the pictorial surface, against a sketched background whose cool tones enhance her physical presence. The young woman wears a voluminous skirt with a floral print, a motif that echoes the basket of flowers she holds in her left hand. The female portrait was Joan Cardona’s defining theme; he knew how to give pictorial form to a woman’s sensuality in the most diverse settings, from the most glamorous to the most humble, as is the case with this beautiful young girl.

Trained at the School of Fine Arts of La Lonja and the Baixeras Academy in Barcelona, he furthered his studies in Paris, where he would settle for several years. In the French capital, he formed a circle with the finest illustrators of the time, such as Cappiello, Sem, Steinlen, and Roubille. A painter and draftsman, he was highly active in the field of illustration, collaborating with Spanish magazines such as “El Gato Negro” and “Hispania,” as well as the French publications “Le Rire” and “Simplicissimus.” Of particular note is his collaboration with “Jugend,” the flagship magazine of Viennese modernism, the Jugendstil. During his time in Paris, Cardona achieved international fame thanks to his pen-and-ink drawings, characterized by their sharp lines and strong expressive qualities. In contrast, in his paintings he subordinates line to color, using warm tones in his early years and cool palettes in his mature period. His paintings, with their great expressive power and dense impasto, highlight the prominence of women, who stand out against vibrant, almost abstract backgrounds, in a style that brings him close to Anglada Camarasa. In 1897, he was awarded a prize in the competition organized by the Mariana Academy of Lleida. He exhibited in Paris at the Salons d’Automne and the Société Nationale, earning the title of “societaire” at both. He participated in the International Fine Arts Exhibitions in Barcelona in 1907 and 1929. His work is represented at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris.