Rafael Durancamps

RAFAEL DURANCAMPS I FOLGUERA (Sabadell, 1891 - Barcelona, 1979).
"Capea in Almansa (Albacete)".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Attached certificate of Marçal Barrachina.
Measurements: 54 x 73 cm; 68 x 87 cm (frame).

With a background that insinuates a landscape of La Mancha bordered by soft hills in front of which a town of rustic architecture is drawn, Durancamps contextualizes the bullfighting festival, which takes place in the center of the square. The painter resolves it with loose and synthetic brushstrokes. The whole is more evocative than detailed, while opting for neutral and earthy tones, restrained gestures and a sense of generalized restraint. In this way, the anecdotal is subordinated to the harmony of the whole.

Rafael Duran i Camps, better known as Durancamps, was a disciple of Vila Cinca at the Industrial School of Arts and Crafts in Sabadell. Later he met Joaquín Mir, with whom he established a close relationship, and whose style influenced the colorful language of Durancamps' first period. He exhibited for the first time in 1917, in the Layetanas Galleries of Barcelona, reaping a success that encouraged him to continue painting despite the opposition of his family. He spent several seasons in Madrid, where he studied the masters of the Prado Museum, and then traveled to Italy. He returned to Barcelona and participated in various competitions, obtaining important awards such as the Masriera medal, as well as several exhibitions in the Sala Parés. In 1921 he travels for the first time to Paris, and five years later he returns to France, settling in the city of Passy until 1939. He returned to Spain and settled in San Sebastian, but continued to work closely with the Sala Parés, where he continued to exhibit until his death. He also held various exhibitions in Madrid, Sabadell, Bilbao, Valencia, London and Philadelphia. He is represented in the Museums of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastian and Buenos Aires, as well as in a large number of Spanish and foreign collections.