Segundo Matilla

SEGUNDO MATILLA MARINA (Madrid, 1862 - Teià, Barcelona, 1937).
"Cadaqués".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 44 x 51 cm; 75 x 78 cm (frame).

In this canvas Segundo Matilla offers us a wide view of the coast of Cadaqués, a cove flooded by the midday sun, whose rays tear sparkles from the water and enliven the colors of the vegetation and the painted hulls of the boats, in contrast with the neutral tonalities of the sand of the town of Alt Empordà. The painter also takes pleasure in capturing the rocks reflected in the calm waters, which he captures with a fragmented and vibrant brushstroke, clearly impressionistic.

Despite being born in Madrid, Matilla trained and developed his career in Barcelona. He studied Fine Arts at the Lonja de Barcelona, under the direction of Antonio Caba. He participated in numerous exhibitions, such as the International Exhibition of Barcelona in 1891, 1894, 1896 and 1898 (honorable mention in 1891), the Art Exhibitions of the same city in 1918 and 1919, and in the Paris Salon of 1897. That same year he received an honorable mention at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid. Among his individual exhibitions were those held at the Salón Vilches in Madrid (1915) and, in Barcelona, at the Sala Parés (1914) and the Pallarés Galleries (1942), the latter a posthumous tribute. Several of his works exhibited there were bought by the Museum of Modern Art in Madrid, and many others were exported to America. He achieved great public and critical success thanks to his landscapes of the Empordà, Camprodón, Port de la Selva and Cadaqués. His work can be found in various museums, such as the aforementioned Museum of Contemporary Art in Madrid, the Prado Museum, the Pablo Gargallo Museum in Zaragoza and the National Art Museum of Catalonia, as well as in important international private collections.