Ramón Casas Carbó. "Júlia Peraire. The creative process towards "La Sargantain". ca. 1906.

RAMÓN CASAS CARBÓ (Barcelona, 1866 - 1932).
Júlia Peraire. The creative process towards "La Sargantain". ca. 1906.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner at the back by the artist "R. Casas 1910".
Attached report and certificate issued by Adrià Codina.
Measurements: 92 x 65 cm; 113 x 85,5 x 5 cm (frame).

Few figures in the history of Catalan art possess the gravitational force of Júlia Peraire, whose presence in this canvas not only consolidates her role as the backbone of Ramón Casas's work, but also defines the technical and expressive zenith of his pictorial maturity. Far from the commissioned portrait or social representation, Casas here places Júlia as the absolute iconographic subject, articulating an image of silent authority and spatial dominance.
Formally, the work is sustained by a fully mature economy of means and chromatic solidity. The saturated green of the dress acts as the structural axis of the composition, while the black of the bullfighter frames the figure and projects the flesh tones towards the foreground with remarkable plastic efficiency. In contrast to the more restrained linear drawing of his bourgeois portraits, Casas adopts a free and sketchy brushstroke, especially visible in the background and in the hands, where the stain acquires expressive autonomy and prioritizes atmosphere, volume and presence.
This painting should also be understood as a previous version that allows us to follow the evolution of Ramon Casas until reaching the expressive and attitudinal zenith that will culminate in La Sargantain. Although the work is dated 1910, there are data that suggest that it was actually made around 1906, something not unusual for the artist, who on numerous occasions did not date his works until the moment of presenting them or putting them into circulation. This chronology is reinforced by the existence of another work, this one dated 1906, in which Julia appears with the same dress-jacket and a more relaxed attitude, establishing a clear stylistic and temporal link between both compositions and placing this piece within the creative process that would lead shortly after to the iconic image of La Sargantain. Although the artist reduces the electric tension and explicit defiance present in La Sargantain (1907), the figure maintains an absolutely modern pose and an imposing presence.

A leading figure of modernism and one of the most internationally renowned Spanish artists of his time, Ramón Casas developed a decisive career between Barcelona and Paris, with an early presence at the Salon des Champs Elysées. His work is now part of the main public collections -Museo del Prado, MNAC, Museo Reina Sofía, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, among others-, confirming his position as an essential reference of modern portraiture and Spanish art collecting between the centuries.