Alberto Pla Rubio

ALBERT PLA RUBIO (Villanueva de Castellón, Valencia, 1867 - Barcelona, 1937).
"Young Man with Sheep", 1910.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
With label on the back of the Sala Parés.
Measurements: 62 x 51 cm; 84 x 70 cm (frame).

The work presents a delicate scene of bucolic character starring a young woman surrounded by sheep in a flowery meadow. The figure, located in the center of the composition, holds a bouquet of flowers while serenely observing the animals, creating a scene of calm and poetic atmosphere.

The composition reflects Pla Rubio's stylistic evolution towards a language of greater pictorial freedom, in which the realism of academic tradition is combined with a luminist sensibility close to the Valencian painting of his time, especially the influence of Sorolla.

Trained at the San Fernando Academy in Madrid with Alejandro Ferrant, Pla Rubio furthered his studies at San Carlos in Valencia. He won the First Medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1895 for ¡A la guerra! and further awards at the Barcelona Exhibition (1899), the Paris Salon (1901) and the Munich Exhibition (1913). He also worked as a professor at the Academies of Fine Arts in Valencia and Cadiz and at La Lonja in Barcelona. His painting evolved from social realism towards a luminism of impressionist brushstrokes close to Sorolla.

His work is preserved in institutions such as the Prado Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia, the MACBA and the Nelson Zúmel Collection.