Joaquim Vancells

JOAQUIM VANCELLS (Barcelona, 1866 - 1942).
"Landscape".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 100 x 129 cm; 122 x 150 cm (frame).
In this canvas, Vancells captures a peaceful and quiet landscape, free of the human figure, starring two trees of great chromatic intensity. The painter rigorously organizes the composition, clearly separating the foreground from the background. Thus, we find in the foreground a large hill, which emerges from the very edge of the painting, guiding our gaze to the right of the composition. The background develops in depth, being closed to the background by the mountains. The sky occupies relatively little space, focusing the protagonism on the ground plane.
Joaquim Vancells studied drawing and painting at the Círculo Artístico de Terrassa. Soon his work was influenced by the landscapes of Joaquín Vayreda, his chromatic harmony and lyricism. He continued his training at the Escuela de la Lonja in Barcelona, but soon abandoned his studies to devote himself to plein air painting as an autodidact. In 1881 he presented a landscape at the Sala Parés, and that same year he received an honorary mention at the Fine Arts Exhibition in Barcelona. In 1894 he obtained a second medal, and first in 1896. Founding member of the Artistic Circle of Sant Lluc, he painted the landscapes of two soffits of the presbytery of Montserrat. His favorite subject was the Catalan landscape, especially the mountain of Sant Llorenç de Munt and the forests of Llavaneres. His work is characterized by the confluence of an academicist technical correctness with symbolist melancholy. He is currently represented in the Museum of Montserrat, the Municipal Museum of Terrassa and the Caixa Terrassa collection, among others.