Benet Mercadé

BENET MERCADÉ Y FÁBREGAS (La Bisbal, Girona, 1821 - Barcelona, 1897).
"Fisherwomen on the beach".
Pair of oil paintings on board.
Signed at the bottom.
Measurements: 23 x 40 cm each; 40 x 57 cm. with frame.

In both compositions, the artist combines the seascape with genre scenes, showing fisherwomen and popular characters in a serene atmosphere, close to the daily life of the coast.

Benito Mercadé moved to Barcelona and entered the La Lonja School in 1838. Later he will extend his training at the School of Fine Arts of San Fernando, in Madrid, where he was a disciple of Carlos Luis Ribera. In 1858 he attended the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, where he received an honorable mention. He then traveled to France, and during his stay in Paris he won the grand prize at the Paris Exhibition and the first medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1867. In his last years he was appointed full professor of the School of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi in Barcelona (1882). Mercadé is currently represented in the Prado Museum, the MACBA in Barcelona, and those of Girona and Zaragoza, among others.