Tomás Moragas

TOMÀS MORAGAS I TORRAS (Girona, 1837–Barcelona, 1906).
"Self-Portrait with a Turban," Reus, 1872.
Watercolor on paper.
Signed, inscribed, and dated.
Dedicated to Bofarull.
Exhibited in “Tomàs Moragas: The Roman Adventure,” Sala Parés, Barcelona.
Measurements: 23.5 x 22 cm; 40.5 x 44.5 cm (with frame).

A unique self-portrait by Tomàs Moragas painted in 1872. The artist depicts himself from the waist up, wearing a white turban and light-colored clothing, enveloped in a soft palette of blues, ochres, and earth tones that lend the image an intimate and somewhat theatrical atmosphere. It reflects the 19th-century fascination with folk types, exotic attire, and the direct study of character.

Tomás Moragas trained in Barcelona, where he studied at the Escuela de La Lonja under Claudio Lorenzale and Pablo Milá y Fontanals, coming into contact with artists such as Tapiró and Fortuny himself, with whom he spent time in Rome. After spending time in Paris, he went on to have a distinguished teaching career in Barcelona, founding the School of Watercolorists and serving as a professor at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts. His work is held in major institutions such as the Prado Museum, the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC), the MACBA, and the Barcelona History Museum.