Ricard Canals

RICARD CANALS LLAMBÍ (Barcelona, 1876 - 1931).
"Sleeping woman".
Charcoal on paper.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 30 x 22 cm; 45 x 36 cm (frame).

Ricard Canals, painter linked to the Barcelona artistic environment of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, noted for his sensitivity to the human figure and scenes of everyday intimacy. In this charcoal drawing, the artist represents a woman seated and overcome by sleep, captured in a recollected and natural attitude.

Ricard Canals was a painter, draftsman and engraver linked to the Colla del Safrà, along with Nonell, Mir and Pichot. In 1897 he settled in Paris, where he exhibited successfully and worked for the art dealer Durand-Ruel, and was in contact with impressionist artists and Pablo Picasso.

In 1907 he returned definitively to Barcelona and presided over the association Las Artes y los Artistas. Since then he developed a painting of Spanish themes, very appreciated in Paris, and he also stood out as a portraitist. An important part of his work is preserved in the National Art Museum of Catalonia, as well as in collections such as the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.