Ramon Martí Alsina

RAMÓN MARTÍ ALSINA (Barcelona, 1826 - 1894).
"Rosine", Paris, 1878.
Oil on canvas.
Signed, located and dated.
Measurements: 45 x 36 cm.

Ramon Martí Alsina, essential figure of the Catalan realism, achieves in this portrait an extraordinary intimacy and pictorial modernity. The face emerges with delicacy from a barely sketched background, constructed by means of a loose and atmospheric brushstroke that evidences the influence of the Parisian environment of the end of the 19th century. The direct and serene gaze of the young woman, together with the vibrant treatment of the flesh and the pink hues, gives the whole a profoundly human presence.

Ramón Martí Alsina was the true driving force behind the modern Catalan school. Trained in Barcelona and deeply influenced by his stays in Paris - where he became acquainted with the painting of Vernet, Delacroix and especially Courbet - he introduced in Spain a renovation based on working from life and a direct and truthful vision of the environment. In his last years he evolved towards a freer brushstroke, close to impressionism. His work is preserved in the Museo del Prado, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, the Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña, the MACBA, the Museo de Montserrat and the Museo de l'Empordà, among other collections.