Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa

HERMENEGILDO ANGLADA CAMARASA (Barcelona, 1871 – Port de Pollença, Mallorca, 1959).
“Bóquer.”
Oil on canvas.
Signed and inscribed “To my good friend Jaime Cifre, with affection” in the lower left corner.
Bibliography: Francesc Fontbona and Francesc Miralles, Anglada-Camarasa, Ediciones Polígrafa, Barcelona, 1981, p. 267, cat. no. 122.
Measurements: 45.5 x 57.5 cm.

The work is part of the significant body of Mallorcan landscapes created by Anglada Camarasa after he settled in Port de Pollença in 1914, a period during which Mediterranean nature came to occupy a central place in his work. The Bóquer Valley and Strait were among his recurring motifs, as evidenced by other works in the collections of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.

Anglada focuses the composition on the large rock formations, rendered with dense, fragmented brushstrokes that transform the terrain into a succession of violet, gray, and bluish planes. The luminous greens in the foreground and the pinkish strip on the horizon introduce chromatic hallmarks characteristic of his Mallorcan paintings, in which direct observation of the landscape is combined with intense artistic elaboration. Rather than a topographical description, the work offers an interpretation of the landscape based on color, texture, and the rhythm of the forms.

The handwritten dedication also adds a personal and documentary element, while its inclusion in the monograph and reference catalog by Fontbona and Miralles reinforces its identification and significance within the artist’s body of work.

Trained in Barcelona and having established himself internationally during his years in Paris, Hermen Anglada Camarasa was one of the most prominent figures of Spanish Modernism and Post-Impressionism. His arrival in Mallorca marked the beginning of a decisive phase in his career, centered on the landscapes of Pollença, Bóquer, and Formentor. His work is represented in institutions such as the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, the Museo Nacional del Prado, and Es Baluard Museu.