José Masriera

JOSÉ MASRIERA MANOVENS (Barcelona, 1841 - 1912).
Untitled, 1873.
Oil on canvas.
Presents multiple Repainting and restorations.
Signed and dated in the lower right area.
Measurements: 115 x 140 cm.
In this still life of Masriera, carefully arranged in a sober interior, the table becomes a small altar to the classic Antiquity. On it, a series of carefully selected objects dialogue with each other in a composition charged with symbolism and erudition: a classical marble bust presides over the scene, its serene and timeless expression evoking the idealization of the Greco-Roman world. Next to it, a pottery of black figures, typical of Attic art, introduces an archaeological and decorative note, connecting ancient plastic with modern collecting.A shield, a helmet and a sword, elements of classical weaponry, add a heroic nuance to the whole, appealing to the epic imaginary of Homeric warriors. A lute, delicately placed between the weapons, softens the atmosphere, alluding to art, poetry and music as counterweights to violence.

Painter and silversmith, he began his artistic training in the workshop of his father, Josep Masriera Vidal. He then entered the School of Fine Arts of La Lonja in Barcelona, where he was influenced by the landscape painter Luis Rigalt, to finally complete his studies in Paris. As a painter he dedicated himself to detailed landscapes, usually inspired by the surroundings of San Andrés de Llavaneras, in the province of Barcelona. He participated in exhibitions in Barcelona, Madrid, Zaragoza, Munich, Berlin and many other cities. His successive trips to Paris brought him into contact with the different tendencies of French landscape painting, and he soon achieved success thanks to the works he presented at the International Exhibition in Paris (third medal) and at the National Fine Arts Exhibitions in Madrid (third medal in 1878 and 1897) and in Barcelona (first medal in 1909). He was an academician of Sciences and Arts (1873) and of the Fine Arts of Sant Jordi, and presided over the Artistic Circle. He published biographies of Catalan artists of the generation before his own, such as Luis Rigalt, Claudio Lorenzale and Francisco Miquel, as well as works on aesthetics such as "Influencia del estilo japonés en las artes europeas" (1885). He is represented in the Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña and the Museo del Prado among others, as well as in important international private collections.