Ramon Calsina

RAMÓN CALSINA BARÓ (Barcelona, 1901 - 1992).
Untitled.
Mixed media on paper.
Signed in the upper margin.
Measurements: 15,5 x 20,5 cm; 23 x 28 cm (frame).

After beginning his training at the Baixas Academy in Barcelona, Calsina entered the La Lonja School in 1920, where he was a disciple of Feliu Mestres. He made his individual debut in 1930 at the Sala Parés, and the following year he exhibited his works in Paris. Of special importance were the anthologies he held in Barcelona in 1957 and 1966. His style, close to magical realism, is precise and stylized, often ironic and full of unusual or fantastic details. It also reveals certain influences of Goya, Daumier and Hogarth. As a draughtsman he made illustrations, posters and stained glass windows. He designed the costumes and scenery for the play "El casament de la Xela", by Xavier Berenguel (1938). Between 1931 and 1933 he collaborated with the German magazine "Der Querschnitt". He also illustrated novels, such as "Don Quixote" and the works of Edgar Allan Poe. In 1964 he won the Ynglada-Guillot international drawing prize, and in 1990 he was awarded the Cross of Sant Jordi. In 1984 a large group of poets, writers, artists and intellectuals made a social appeal for the recognition of Calsina, as a result of which the Caja de Ahorros de Barcelona, with the collaboration of the Generalitat de Catalunya, dedicated an anthological exhibition to him. In 1990 another one was held at the Centro Conde Duque in Madrid, with the collaboration of the City Council. He is represented in several Spanish museums, as well as in important private collections. In 2009 the Ramón Calsina Foundation was created, promoted by his heirs.