Ricard Martí

RICARD MARTÍ (Barcelona, 1826–1894).
“Landscape with a Stream.”
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 52 x 112 cm.
Despite its horizontal format, in this painting Ricardo Martí organizes the landscape into parallel planes that lend depth, endowing the space with a strong sense of three-dimensionality and achieving that impression of an open window so characteristic of this Catalan master. The stream winds its way, branching out into lake-like ripples. In the distance, the mountains take on the depth of a dream. This original format also allows him to draw a parallel between the planes of the sky and the earth, which merge into an intermediate plane of ethereal synthesis between cool blues and warm sienna tones. The clouds spread out in broad veils, as if emanating from the ground itself. In the face of nature’s magnificence, with each blade of grass rendered almost in isolation, the few figures of peasants appear dwarfed: some gleaners cross the stream along a rocky path, while another remains half-hidden among the wild grasses. A centuries-old tree pierces the sky, imposing itself with its textured bark.
Ricardo Martí trained at the Escuela de la Lonja in Barcelona and in the studio of his father, the painter Ramón Martí Alsina. He held several solo exhibitions, participated in group shows, and entered various art competitions, such as the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. He won a gold medal at the “Plants and Flowers” exhibition (1895), a bronze medal at the 1896 Barcelona Exposition, and a second medal at the Spanish National Exhibition held in Mexico in 1910. He also taught drawing and painting in the town of Grecia. Specializing in still lifes and flower arrangements, he also painted portraits and seascapes. His works are currently included in various private collections.