Isidre Nonell

ISIDRE NONELL I MONTURIOL (Barcelona, 1873–1911).
“Figures Seated on the Floor,” 1898.
Conté pencil and watercolor on paper.
Accompanied by a study and certificate of authenticity issued by Glòria Escala.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 22.5 x 32.5 cm; 43.5 x 54 cm (frame).

Many of the drawings Nonell created throughout his artistic career depict everyday life in the streets and other public spaces of the city of Barcelona and its suburbs. One of the artist’s goals was to capture, in quick sketches, the idiosyncrasies of the various types of people who populated these scenes—their occupations, their moods, and, in many cases, their distinctive features and expressions.

Isidre Nonell trained under Josep Mirabent and Lluís Graner and at the La Lonja School, where he studied alongside artists such as Joaquim Mir, Joaquim Sunyer, and Torres-García. From a very young age, he participated in major exhibitions in Barcelona and throughout the country, becoming associated with the Colla del Safrà and the Modernist circle Els Quatre Gats. In 1896, he traveled to Boí with Ricard Canals and Juli Vallmitjana, an experience that profoundly shaped his artistic output and gave rise to a series of drawings of great expressive power. The following year, he settled in Paris, where he exhibited at prominent salons and galleries—including Ambroise Vollard’s—thereby solidifying his international reputation. Upon his return to Barcelona, he developed the personal artistic language that would make him one of the key figures of Catalan Modernism, characterized by a profound sense of realism and intense human depth. His work exerted a notable influence on new generations of artists and is now part of the collections of the Reina Sofía National Art Museum, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the MAPFRE Foundation, and the Empordà Museum, among other institutions.