Rafael Durancamps

RAFAEL DURANCAMPS I FOLGUERA (Sabadell, 1891 - Barcelona, 1979).
"Capea".
Oil on canvas.
Attached certificate issued by the Mayoral Gallery (Barcelona).
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 54 x 73 cm; 72 x 90 cm (frame).
With a background that insinuates a landscape of La Mancha bordered of soft hills before which a town of rustic architecture is drawn dominated by a great watchtower, Durancamps contextualizes the bullfighting party, which is developed 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 Durancamps made several works dedicated to capeas, such as the capea of Seville or the capea of Bilbao, as well as the work "Capea" which is in the Carmen Thyssen Bornemisza Collection. In all of them the author created a landscape format work as in this case, which allows him to open the panoramic view and increase the spatial sensation. This work is an excellent example of his paintings dedicated to the aforementioned theme with the action developed in a foreground populated by characters and an urban silhouette dominating the last plane.
Originally called Rafael Duran i Camps, he 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 the first period of Durancamps. 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 took part in various competitions, winning important prizes such as the Masriera medal in 1920, as well as several exhibitions in the Sala Parés. In 1921 he travels for the first time to Paris. His work at this time is close to impressionism, but also shows the influences of Zurbarán, El Greco and Venetian colorism, combining the precision of drawing with the gravity of color. In 1926 he returned to France and settled in Passy, where he lived until 1939. During these years he met Picasso, who encouraged him to hold exhibitions at the Zak Gallery, where he obtained considerable success, which increased in his successive exhibitions. He returned to Spain and settled in San Sebastian, but continued to work closely with the Sala Parés, where he continued to hold exhibitions until his death. He also held various exhibitions in Madrid, Sabadell, Bilbao, Valencia, London and Philadelphia. Although his first stage was influenced by Mir, Durancamps soon evolved towards a more personal conception, giving special preponderance to the constructive line and a peculiar coloring of sober beauty. His still lifes, which he treated with profusion of line and transparency, are a prodigy of serenity and elegance, with such a personal stamp that they escape any contemporary classification. His landscapes and genre scenes, especially the capeas in different Spanish villages, are of great emotion. The "skies of foreboding" that express the drama of the fiesta evoke his acute lyrical sense. 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.