Lluis Rigalt

LLUIS RIGALT I FARRIOLS (Barcelona, 1814–1894).
“Shipyards of Barcelona.”
Pencil and ink wash on paper.
Signed and titled in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 14.5 x 23.5 cm.

A painter, decorator, and draftsman, and the son of painter and heraldist Pablo Rigalt i Fargas, Lluís Rigalt specialized in landscape painting. He studied at the La Lonja School in Barcelona and, apparently, also in Madrid under Jenaro Pérez Villamil. In 1841, he accidentally substituted for his father in his classes at La Lonja, where he would later become a professor of perspective and landscape painting, beginning in 1845 (a position confirmed in 1850). Beginning in 1847, he participated in the Fine Arts Exhibitions in Barcelona, and in 1858 he was awarded an honorable mention at the National Exhibition in Madrid for the painting titled “Memories of Catalonia.” As an illustrator, he produced an “Encyclopedic Pictorial Album of Industrial Arts” in 1857 and, in 1863, “Drawing Pads for Use in Elementary Schools.” In addition, he illustrated the works “Picturesque Spain” and “History of Catalonia.” Also noteworthy were his drawings of the tomb erected in Barcelona Cathedral for the funeral of Martínez de la Rosa, as well as those of the sword of honor presented to General O’Donnell by the Catalan provinces in 1862. He also created decorative works, such as the paintings for the rooms where Queen Isabella II stayed in Barcelona in 1845, as well as those for the Santa Cruz Theater, also in his hometown. In 1885, he traveled to Paris on a commission to install the works of art presented by Spain at the Paris Exposition, and once there, he was fascinated by the approach of the landscape painters of the Barbizon School. Lluís Rigalt served as director of the La Lonja School from 1877 to 1878, representing a more progressive stance than that of his predecessor, Claudio Lorenzale, since, although he was still a Romantic like the Nazarenes, he did not share their mystical archaism but instead approached nature directly. In addition to teaching in Barcelona, he was an academician of merit at the San Fernando Academy in Madrid, and through his teaching—as well as that of his father—landscape painting began to enjoy great esteem in Catalonia, even though until then it had been a little-cultivated and scarcely appreciated genre in Spain. He cultivated a highly elaborate style of landscape painting that mythologized nature and often centered on romantic ruins; he also stood out for his numerous drawings, which typically depicted monuments and corners doomed to disappear with Barcelona’s urban renewal. He also drew rural landscapes of Bañolas, the Maresme, Blanes, Lloret, Tossa, Martorell, and other locations. His work is currently represented in the Prado Museum, the Sant Jordi Academy of Fine Arts, the MACBA, and the Barcelona City History Museum, among other major public and private collections.