Ricard Canals

RICARD CANALS LLAMBÍ (Barcelona, 1876–1931).
"Rue de Paris."
Pencil and watercolor on paper.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 29 x 22.5 cm; 46 x 40 cm (frame).

Canals was a painter, draftsman, and printmaker, and a member of the “Colla del Safrà” (Saffron Group, so named for its distinctive color palette) alongside the painters Nonell, Mir, Pichot, and Vallmitjana. He began his studies at the Escuela de La Lonja in Barcelona but dropped out shortly thereafter to continue painting on the street. A friend of Isidre Nonell, in 1896 they traveled together to Caldes de Boí, and the following year they moved to Paris. In the French capital, both exhibited at the Chez Dosbourg gallery to great acclaim. Nonell returned to Barcelona, while Canals remained in Paris to work for the art dealer Durand-Ruel—the dealer for the Impressionists, representing artists such as Corot, Monet, and Pissarro. He was a personal friend of Picasso during this period, and Picasso painted a portrait of his wife. He made a notable showing at the French salons of 1897 and 1898, as well as at the 1902 exhibition held at Durand-Ruel’s gallery in New York. In 1907, he returned permanently to Barcelona, where he served as president of the Las Artes y los Artistas association. From then on, he undertook several trips throughout Spain, visiting Madrid, Seville, and Granada. From that point on, his works took on a distinctly Spanish flavor, combined with his modern artistic style. It was precisely this Spanish theme that earned him his greatest successes in Paris, although in his later years his style evolved toward a style closer to Noucentisme. He also distinguished himself as a portraitist. His last major work, before his untimely death, was the decoration of the ceiling in one of the halls of Barcelona City Hall. In 1933, two years after his death, the Parés Gallery in Barcelona dedicated a major retrospective exhibition to him. Much of his work is preserved at the National Art Museum of Catalonia, but it is also found in the collections of Montserrat Abbey, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, and the National Museum of Fine Arts in Chile.