Xavier Miserachs

XAVIER MISERACHS I RIBALTA (Barcelona, 1937–Badalona, Barcelona, 1998).
“Carrer Pelai,” 1962.
A later print made in 2009 from the original negative.
Silver bromide gelatin on paper.
Signed on the reverse by Arena and Mar Miserachs.
Edition of 46 copies, printed at Reproducciones Sabaté with conservation treatment.
Certificate from the publisher included.
Measurements: 38 × 25 cm (image); 40 × 30 cm (paper).

“Carrer Pelai” belongs to the body of work that led to *Barcelona. Blanc i negre*, published in 1964 and considered one of the seminal photobooks of the Spanish photographic avant-garde. The significance of this composition is underscored by the presence of another copy in the collection of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, where it is identified as part of that series.

Miserachs places the child and his balloon in the center of a busy street, isolating them through selective focus and the contrast between the suspended white form and the blurred movement of the passersby. The child’s look of wonder captures the human essence of the scene, while the spontaneous framing preserves the rhythm and vitality of everyday life in Barcelona.

Xavier Miserachs was one of the leading figures in the renewal of Catalan documentary photography during the 1950s and 1960s. Associated with the new avant-garde alongside Ricard Terré and Ramón Masats, he developed an urban vision rooted in neorealism, focused on the working classes and social transformations. His photobooks *Barcelona. Blanc i negre*, *Costa Brava Show*, and *Los cachorros* are essential works of the period, and his photographs are part of collections such as those at the Reina Sofía Museum, MACBA, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, and Foto Colectania.