Josep Mestres

JOSEP MESTRES CABANES (Manresa, Barcelona, 1898 – Barcelona, 1990).
“Cityscape,” 1856.
Mixed media (charcoal and oil) on paper.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 20 x 14 cm; 33 x 27 cm (frame).

A painter and set designer, Josep Mestres Cabanes came from a family with a long artistic tradition. He began his studies at the School of Arts and Crafts in Manresa, and then continued his training at the School of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi in Barcelona, where he studied under J. Calvo. He also studied in the studio of Salvador Alarma, with whom he later became a collaborator and partner under the firm name Alarma y Mestres (1939). When Alarma died in 1942, Mestres was commissioned to create the sets for various Wagnerian productions at the Liceu Theater, and he subsequently took up residence in Alarma’s set design studio until 1956. His set designs stood out for their realism and his mastery of perspective, and as an easel painter, he held several exhibitions in Barcelona and Madrid. Between 1947 and 1969, he taught perspective at the Instituto del Teatro in Barcelona, and was later appointed full professor of that subject at the Escuela de Sant Jordi. During his career, he was awarded the silver medal from the Barcelona Provincial Council, the gold medals from the city of Manresa and the Society of the Gran Teatro del Liceo, and the Golden Poster Award from the Liceo Consortium. Although most of his work is held in private collections, it is also represented at the Manresa Regional Museum and the Museum of Performing Arts at the Instituto del Teatro in Barcelona, where an exhibition was recently dedicated to him.