Joan Cardona

JOAN CARDONA I LLADÓS (Barcelona, 1877-1957).
"Escena galante".
Mixed media on paper.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 37 x 25 cm; 48 x 37 cm (frame).

Cardona solves this gallant scene by means of an agile and synthetic drawing, combined with soft touches of color that enhance the expressiveness of the faces and the dynamism of the figures. The chromatic range, dominated by yellows, ochers and blacks, reinforces the decorative character of the scene, in an aesthetic close to illustration and the elegant atmosphere of the Paris of the Belle Époque.

Trained at the School of Fine Arts of La Lonja and at the Baixeras Academy in Barcelona, Cardona furthered his studies in Paris, where he lived for several years and worked with prominent illustrators such as Cappiello, Sem, Steinlen and Roubille. He developed an important activity as an illustrator collaborating in magazines such as "El Gato Negro", "Hispania", "Le Rire", "Simplicissimus" and the modernist "Jugend".

He exhibited in Paris in the Salons d'Automne and of the Société Nationale, being named sociétaire, and participated in the International Exhibitions of Fine Arts of Barcelona in 1907 and 1929. His work is conserved in the Museum of Luxembourg in Paris.