Ramón Martí Alsina

RAMÓN MARTÍ ALSINA (Barcelona, 1826 - 1894).
"Coastal landscape".
Oil on canvas.
Relined.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Presents faults in the frame.
Measurements: 35 x 46 cm; 49 x 59 x 6 cm (frame).

This landscape shows Ramón Martí Alsina in full affirmation of his modern realism, characterized by the direct observation of the nature, the structural solidity of the drawing and a firm brushstroke that constructs so much the rocky formations as the wide atmospheric sky. The scene combines the monumentality of the cliff with the daily life of the coast -figures, boats, buildings- treated with a naturalness that reveals his will to transfer to the canvas a fragment of the real world without idealization. The prominence of the sky and the light, as well as the composition open to the distance, respond to the painter's interest in the study of landscape as an autonomous genre, aligned with the European realist currents of the mid-19th century.

Ramón Martí Alsina was the central figure of 19th century Spanish realism and the true driving force behind the modern Catalan school. Trained in Barcelona and deeply influenced by his stays in Paris - where he became acquainted with the painting of Vernet, Delacroix and especially Courbet - he introduced in Spain a renewal based on working from life and on a direct and truthful vision of the environment. Academic and professor, he trained a decisive generation of artists. He received medals at the National Exhibitions of Madrid in 1858 and 1860, and participated in important exhibitions in Barcelona, Madrid and Paris, including the Universal Exposition of 1889. In his later years he evolved towards a freer brushstroke, close to impressionism. His work is preserved in institutions such as the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the MACBA, the Museum of Montserrat and the Museum of l'Empordà, among other collections.