Román Ribera

ROMÁN RIBERA CIRERA (Barcelona, 1848 - 1935).
"Little street musician".
Oil on panel.
Signed in the lower margin.
Measurements: 70 x 44 cm; 88,5 x 62 cm (frame).

Costumbrista painting that shows us a small street musician who asks for alms. We see a boy standing, dressed with simple and somewhat worn clothes (wide pants, vest and loose jacket), which denotes his humble social extraction. The boy holds a violin and bow under his left arm, while with his right hand he extends a cap or hat towards a passerby who is out of the frame. His expression denotes an attitude of supplication.

The work shows a loose and vibrant brushstroke. Román Ribera was a very skilled painter, influenced by both "fortunysmo" and French realism, as he lived in Paris. Here there is a theatrical handling of light. The lighting strikes strongly from the upper left, bathing the boy's face and white shirt, leaving the rest of the body and background in semi-darkness. This focuses dramatic attention on the boy's expression. Earthy and ochre tones predominate, typical of the Spanish school of realist tradition.

Catalan painter, Román Ribera studied drawing at the School of La Lonja in Barcelona, and painting at the academy of Pere Borrell. He furthered his studies in Rome, between 1873 and 1976, and traveled and exhibited in London. In the Italian capital he attended the Chigi Academy and dedicated himself to painting, but avoiding the contagion of the academicist mannerism of the Roman school. In 1877 he went to Paris, under the guidance of the art dealer Adolphe Goupil, who had acquired the rights to reproduce all his work. There he continued his training, this time directly studying scenes of Parisian street life. A year later, he took part in the Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he obtained a decisive success thanks to the three works he presented. In 1881 he took part in the National Exhibition in Madrid precisely with the aforementioned work of baroque setting, and in 1883 he was awarded the Encomienda de Isabel la Católica. After twelve years in Paris he returned to Barcelona, where he had already exhibited at the Centro de Acuarelistas (1885) and at the recently inaugurated Sala Parés. He then showed his work at the Artistic and Literary Association and at the Parés and Rovira halls, as well as at the Universal Exhibition of 1888 and the Fine Arts Exhibition of 1894, obtaining great critical and public success, soon gaining the favor of the wealthy Catalan bourgeoisie. In 1893 he presented two paintings to the Exhibition organized by the Ateneo de Barcelona: "Inocencia" and "Incógnitca". Individually Cirera showed his work regularly in the Rovira room and, as a group, he was a member of the Artistic and Literary Society of Catalonia. He was part of several official juries, and also of the Board of Museums of Barcelona, in 1901. In 1915 he was named Member of Merit of the Artistic Circle of Barcelona. On his return to Spain, Ribera continued to depict the life of the upper classes, the luxury of their homes, the richness of their party dresses, etc., becoming a faithful portraitist of the Catalan high bourgeoisie of the Restoration, as he had already been of the French bourgeoisie of the Third Republic. He worked mainly in Barcelona, but also traveled to Madrid and held exhibitions of his work there. His work is currently conserved in the MACBA in Barcelona, the Museu d'Art de Girona, the Museu de Montserrat, the Biblioteca Víctor Balaguer and in various important private collections.