Ramon Sanvisens

RAMON SANVISENS I MARFULL (Barcelona, 1917–1987).
"Still Life."
Oil on canvas.
Signed.
Measurements: 64.5 x 99.5 cm; 75.5 x 110.5 cm (frame).

A visually rich still life, arranged on a table covered with a white tablecloth. The composition features loaves of bread, a covered carafe, a glass, a ham hock, cheese, canned fruit, a tin can, and various pieces of tableware, arranged with a dramatic sense that combines abundance, balance, and spontaneity. The dark background enhances the presence of the objects and allows the whites, yellows, ochres, and oranges to take on an intense luminosity.

Sanvisens does not seek a meticulous description, but rather a painting of sensations: the density of the food, the glint of the glass, the freshness of the light on the tablecloth, and the everyday theatricality of a generously set table. The work is part of the modern tradition of still life, understood not only as a representation of objects but as an exercise in color, rhythm, and pictorial composition. The horizontal composition allows for a leisurely viewing of the scene, while the hallmarks of the black background and the brightness of the table lend the work a remarkable decorative power.

Ramon Sanvisens i Marfull was a Catalan painter who trained at the Escola d’Arts i Oficis del Clot and the Llotja in Barcelona; he later studied at the Escola Superior de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi, where he also taught. In 1945, he lived in Paris, where he studied the work of Van Gogh, Cézanne, Gauguin, and Bonnard, and in 1946 he was awarded the El Paular grant, which enabled him to travel to the Netherlands and experience the paintings of Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Frans Hals firsthand. His work is represented in collections such as the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection and in institutions listed in the *Diccionari d’artistes catalans, valencians i balears* (Dictionary of Catalan, Valencian, and Balearic Artists) published by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans and the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya.