Darío de Regoyos

DARÍO DE REGOYOS (Asturias, 1857 - Barcelona, 1913).
"Farm of Belgium", 1881.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
On the back on the stretcher frame, the artist wrote in pencil "A mon ami E. Baudot".
It has a label on the back of the "Exposition Generale de Beaux-Arts".
Attached certificate of Juan San Nicolas.
We thank Juan San Nicolás Santa María for his invaluable help in cataloguing this lot.
Measurements: 63 x 53 cm, 87 x 96 cm (frame).

"Farm of Belgium", constitutes an exceptional document of the pre-impressionist stage of Dario de Regoyos, a period in which the artist definitively detaches himself from the Spanish academic tradition to immerse himself in the European avant-garde. Painted during his residence in Brussels and coinciding with his entry into the circle of L'Essor, the piece captures a Belgian rural scene with a farm and poultry, a theme that would be recurrent throughout his career. The composition stands out for a masterful atmospheric interpretation, typical of a cloudy spring day, where the diffuse light eliminates violent hallmarks and generates soft shadows that envelop the landscape with an almost lyrical sensibility.

Technically, the canvas shows the duality of an artist in full evolution: while the trees and the architecture of the farm are resolved with remarkable precision, the treatment of the road and the low vegetation reveals a surprising plastic freedom for the time, through the use of the palette knife and a material brushstroke that anticipates his future drift towards impressionism and pointillism.

The historical value of the work is enhanced by its provenance. Its first owner was Eugène Baudot, a prominent Belgian violinist and member of Regoyos' close circle of friends, which also included musicians such as Isaac Albéniz and Arbós. The piece is not only a testimony of the painter's technical mastery, but also of the interdisciplinary links of the Brussels bohemian life at the end of the 19th century. Endorsed by the certificate of D. Juan San Nicolas, the importance of this painting is endorsed by its participation in the Exposition Générale des Beaux-Arts of 1884 at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.

Trained at the Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, where he studied landscape painting with the Belgian artist Carlos de Haes as his teacher. It was then that the Asturian artist's knowledge began to expand towards Belgian landscape trends, a taste and interest that he developed by traveling to Belgium in 1879. The stay in Brussels was enriching for Regoyos, attending the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels as a student. However, the academicism integrated in the institution caused the artist to leave, and he turned to the former teacher of Carlos de Haes, Joseph Quinaux, in order to acquire new techniques.Regoyos became perfectly integrated in his new place of residence, he met a large number of artists, poets and writers, from whom he learned and completed himself as an artist. His recognition advanced thanks to his dynamism and artistic skill, which allowed him to enter the famous Circle of the XX (act. 1883-1894). It could be said that it was from then on when Regoyos' artistic career began to mature. In 1886, the Asturian artist developed a pointillist stage promoted by George Seurat's participation in one of the exhibitions held at the Circle of the XX. The commotion and impact caused by Seurat's treatment provoked the creation of a pointillist group, in which Darío de Regoyos participated. This innovative movement attracted French impressionist artists such as Paul Signac, another reference in the artistic technique of Regoyos. After the dissolution of Los XX in 1893, Regoyos decided to return to Spain where the artistic panorama was limited, since the new tendencies had not yet arrived from France. It could be said that this was the end of his apprenticeship period, becoming a teacher of artists liberalized from the "sorollismo" rooted in the field of landscape painting, and encouraging them to spread his ideas through the media of the time.
The Asturian artist's exhibition career covered a large number of cities, such as Bilbao, Frankfurt, Berlin, The Hague, Venice, Bayonne, San Sebastian, London, Mexico City, Bordeaux and Buenos Aires, among others. It is also represented in institutions such as the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña in Barcelona, the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao and the Gerstenmaier Collection, among many other museums and institutions.