Pere Ysern Alié

PERE YSERN ALIÉ (Barcelona, 1875 - 1946).
"Flamenco Tablao".
Oil on panel.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 23 x 32 cm; 40 x 49 cm (frame).

Pere Ysern Alié developed a gestural, vibrant and expressionist painting, centered in popular scenes and of strong emotional load. In this oil painting, the movement of the dance is resolved through rapid and impastoed brushstrokes, with a predominance of warm tones and intense hallmarks that reinforce the nocturnal and festive atmosphere of the tablao.

Ysern was an artist very attentive to the human figure in action, and in this composition the protagonism clearly falls on the dancer, elevated almost to a central axis, while the public and the musicians dissolve in dynamic spots, reinforcing the sensation of rhythm and music.

Ysern Alié trained at Pere Borrell del Caso's academy, where, together with Ramón Riera, he promoted the group El Rovell de l'Ou, with a realist orientation and reaction to late modernism. He made his debut at the General Exhibition of Fine Arts in Barcelona (1894) and furthered his training in Rome (1896-1898) with Ramón Tusquets.

From 1899 he settled in Paris, where he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français and was a regular at the Salon des Indépendants, assimilating influences of Puvis de Chavannes and Impressionism. His international projection was consolidated in 1901, when the Russian Tsar acquired one of his works at the St. Petersburg International Exhibition.

His work is preserved in the MACBA, the Musée du Luxembourg (Paris), the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, the Fundació La Caixa and in important private collections.