Josep Armet

JOSEP ARMET PORTANELL (Barcelona, 1843–1911).
“Landscape.”
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 153.5 x 127 cm; 155 x 128.5 cm (frame).

In this landscape, Josep Armet Portanell offers an interpretation of nature closely linked to the development of Catalan realist landscape painting in the second half of the 19th century. The composition, typical of the painter’s style, is structured around a small body of water in the foreground, whose reflections introduce depth and draw the eye toward lush vegetation dominated by the large cluster of trees in the center. Above it stretches a vast, cloudy sky, rendered through soft gradations of grays, ochres, and pearlescent tones that lend the scene a distinct atmospheric quality.

A prominent painter and lithographer, Armet worked in landscape, genre painting, portraiture, and decorative painting. He began his training at the School of Fine Arts at La Lonja in Barcelona, where he studied under Ramón Martí Alsina. In the early 1860s, he moved to Rome to further his studies, and there he became friends with Mariano Fortuny. He submitted works to national and local exhibitions, receiving an honorable mention at the 1864 National Exhibition and a third-place medal at the 1866 edition. He also exhibited regularly at the Sala Parés in Barcelona, beginning in 1877. In 1872, he won an award at the Official Exhibition in Le Havre, France, and in 1878 he participated in the Paris World’s Fair. In the field of lithography, in 1866 he produced a series titled “Youth Painted by Itself” in the style established by Eusebio Planas, the publication of which was banned. As a decorator, his paintings for the Café del Liceo in Barcelona are particularly noteworthy. Initially, his artistic style followed the tradition of the Olot School, a town to which he had moved in 1870 to escape yellow fever, along with the painters Urgell, Caba, and others, actively collaborating with his peers to establish the Olot Art Center. For his landscapes, he made sketches from life, which he later rendered in oil, filtered through artificial light. His style during these years falls within the tradition of Catalan realist landscape painting, with noticeable Roman influences evident in his technical precision. However, during his later years, his style evolved in a direction that connects with the work of Ramón Casas and the early Picasso. He turned his attention to contemporary street scenes featuring ordinary people, and his brushwork took on greater fluidity and a more gestural quality. Josep Armet’s works are represented in the Prado Museum and the Provincial Museum of Girona, among other public and private collections.