Julio Borrell Pla

JULIO BORRELL PLA (Barcelona, 1877–1957).
“Young Man on the Balcony.”
Oil on canvas.
Signed.
Measurements: 181.6 x 94 cm; 184 x 97 cm (frame).

The subject Julio Borrell Pla most frequently depicted was that of the classic Spanish maja, portrayed as women adorned with a mantilla and peineta, rendered in a sensual and elegant style, underpinned by extraordinary technical skill and a remarkable mastery of drawing. This interest in the female figure also extended to genre scenes of a more everyday and bourgeois nature, such as this “Young Woman on the Balcony,” a fine example of his pictorial style. The young woman, caught in the intimacy of a balcony lavishly adorned with flowers, casts a smiling glance at the viewer that lends a sense of closeness and spontaneity to a carefully constructed composition. The precise drawing, the delicacy of the skin tones and the dress, as well as the meticulous rendering of the flowers, the drapery, the railing, and the reflections from the interior, reveal Borrell’s technical virtuosity. Added to this is a rich and luminous palette, in which intense reds, pinks, greens, and blues stand out against the deep areas of shadow. The floral exuberance, the large vertical format, and the sensual elegance of the subject reinforce the painting’s ornamental appeal, which is fully in keeping with the tastes of the Catalan bourgeoisie in the early 20th century and characteristic of a significant portion of Borrell Pla’s oeuvre.

The son and disciple of Pere Borrell del Caso, he trained at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. From his father, he absorbed the influence of the Nazarene painters Claudio Lorenzale and Pablo Milà i Fontanals. In 1888, at the age of eleven, he entered a painting in the Barcelona competition at the World’s Fair, alongside his brother Ramón, who was also a painter. Beginning in 1894, he took part in nearly all the official exhibitions held in Barcelona and Madrid, receiving an honorable mention in 1897. That same year, he won a second medal at the exhibition in Arcachon, France. His name gained particular prominence during his exhibitions at the Sala Parés in Barcelona between 1915 and 1920. His extensive body of work includes both oil and pastel paintings and covers a wide range of subjects. The subject he most frequently depicted was that of the classic Spanish maja—women wearing mantillas and peinetas—captured in his personal, sensuous style, with extraordinary skill and great mastery of drawing. Among his many paintings, some of which have been widely reproduced, it is worth mentioning “El viático al Liceo,” “Lavapiés on Holy Thursday,” “Royal Weddings,” which he painted on commission from King Alfonso XIII, “Honeymoon,” “The Triumph of Christianity,” etc. He also devoted himself to decorative painting, creating religious murals for the Church of San Francisco in Buenos Aires and the dome of the Basilica of La Merced in Barcelona, which was destroyed in 1936. Throughout his career, Borrell held numerous solo exhibitions at various galleries in Barcelona and participated in group exhibitions and art competitions. Many of his works are on display at MACBA, as well as at the National Art Museum of Catalonia and other institutions.