Ramón Barnadas

RAMÓN BARNADAS FÁBREGAS (Olot, Girona, 1909 – Vic, Barcelona, 1981).
“Landscape,” 1952.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 66 x 81 cm; 82 x 98 cm (frame).

A precocious painter, he enrolled in the Olot School of Fine Arts at the age of ten and held his first solo exhibition in 1929 at the Galerías Layetanas in Barcelona. Just six years later, he was appointed professor at the School of Fine Arts in his hometown. He exhibited his work in Spain, Mexico, and Switzerland, and won first prizes at the National Exhibition in Madrid and the International Exhibition in Palamós, as well as the Estrada Foundation’s National Landscape Prize and the Ricardo Portabella Prize. Barnadas, with his sketchy style, went beyond the lessons learned from Realism and Impressionism, eventually becoming part of the evolutionary avant-garde of Catalonia at that time. This painter was able to develop his own distinctive landscape style, seeking out and embracing new pictorial concepts. However, his work also encompasses the human figure, animal subjects, still lifes, Gypsy families, and bathers, all rendered with the same inimitable talent evident in his landscapes. Throughout his career, Barnadas exhibited his work in various shows, notably those held at the Galerías Layetanas in 1927 and 1928, and at the Sala Barcino in 1933, 1924, 1935, and 1936—both in Barcelona. He was also awarded first prize in the watercolor category at the 9th Provincial Art Competition, organized by the Girona Provincial Council, for his work “Gallinas.” Even after his death, his work continued to be shown to the public; in 2006, the Fontana d’Or cultural center in Girona hosted a retrospective exhibition dedicated to him, marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death, and that same year another exhibition was dedicated to him, organized by the Caixa de Girona. Between December 2008 and January 2009, the Les Voltes Gallery in Olot presented a selection of his works to mark the centennial of his birth. Today, two streets are named after him—one in his hometown of Olot and another in the city of Girona.