Fernando Viscaí

FERNANDO VISCAÍ ALBERT, (Valencia, 1879 - Ibiza, 1936).
"Children on the beach".
Oil on canvas.
It has slight flaws in the frame.
Measurements: 55 x 60 cm; 73 x 77 cm (frame).
In this work of Fernando Viscaí Albert is represented a luminous and tender costumbrista scene in which two children play on the beach with a small toy boat, trying to make it float in the calm waters of the shore. The composition clearly refers to the influence of Joaquín Sorolla, both in the subject matter and in the treatment of light and color. In the center of the scene, two naked children crouch on the wet sand while carefully manipulating a small wooden boat. Their expressions and postures reveal concentration and complicity. The coastal setting is bathed in an intense Mediterranean light that reflects on the water and on the figures, generating reflections and soft shadows that capture the ephemeral atmosphere of a child's moment.
The sea, a light blue tinged with white and greenish reflections, occupies the background and merges with an open sky, while the sand, dotted with footprints and plays of light, acts as a warm and earthy base for the composition. The line is loose but precise, with impastoed brushstrokes that bring vitality to the water and the texture of the environment. The chromatic range is clear, dominated by pastels, whites, ochers and blues, in a style that seeks to capture the luminous vibration of the moment rather than the minute detail.
Painter, sculptor and architect, Fernando Viscaí was a favorite disciple and great friend of Joaquín Sorolla, and enjoyed celebrity in his time especially for his exhibitions of portraits and landscapes of Paris and the Ibizan town of Santa Eulàlia. He was also successful in his participation in the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, where he exhibited his "Monument to Race", which was erected in front of the Pedralbes Palace. Viscaí developed his training at the School of Fine Arts of San Carlos in Valencia, and in 1903 he obtained, along with José Pinazo, the pension of the Diputación de Valencia to further his education. On Sorolla's advice, the Diputación acquired the painting Viscaí had submitted for the competition. He worked on various themes, focusing mainly on portraits, landscapes and genre themes, and attended the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts, being awarded an honorable mention in 1902. He also exhibited individually at the Sala Parés in Barcelona (1912), whose success encouraged him to move to Paris. There he participated in the Salon des Artistes Français between 1912 and 1914, and also sent works to the International Exhibition in Brighton, England. On that occasion, several of his paintings were acquired by Archer Huntington for the Hispanic Society of America in New York. Following the outbreak of the Great War, he returned to Spain and settled initially in Madrid, where he decorated the Teatro Reina Victoria. In the twenties he continued to exhibit in different Spanish cities, and his last years were spent between Ibiza and Barcelona. Viscaí is currently represented in the aforementioned Hispanic Society of New York, the Prado Museum and the Municipal de Bellas Artes of Tenerife, among other public and private collections.