Antoni Vila Arrufat

ANTONIO VILA ARRUFAT (Sabadell, 1894 – Barcelona, 1989).
“Sleeping Girl,” 1942.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the upper left corner. Signed, dated, and identified on the back.
Measurements: 60 x 74 cm; 78 x 92 cm (frame).
The son of fellow painter Joan Vila i Cinca (co-founder of the Sabadell Academy of Fine Arts), and father of the painter Joan Vila-Grau, Antonio Vila Arrufat trained primarily with his father and at the La Lonja School in Barcelona, eventually completing his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid, thanks to a scholarship awarded by the Sabadell City Council. He also undertook several study trips to France and Italy, and upon his return, he devoted himself primarily to mural painting, particularly those with religious themes, notably his altarpiece of the Blessed Sacrament in the Church of La Trinidad in Vilafranca del Penedés (1935) and those in the Sala de la Ciutat at Barcelona City Hall (1950), the latter executed in oil on canvas. He was also a prominent printmaker and taught this discipline at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts in Barcelona, where he was later appointed professor (1949–1958). He was a member of the Royal Academies of San Fernando and Sant Jordi, and exhibited in Spain, Italy, France, and Argentina. His mature work, which developed beginning in the 1920s, focuses on figures and maternal scenes with an intimate tone, and is characterized by its clarity and the Noucentista serenity of its settings. He received several awards, most notably the Medal of Honor at the National Exhibition in Barcelona (1942) and the First Medal for Engraving at the National Exhibition in Madrid (1948). Although some critics have linked him to Noucentisme, and by age he belongs to the Generation of ’17, Vila Arrufat was always an independent painter in his work and faithful to his personal temperament, which was completely timeless. Now considered a classic of modernism, he captured the spirit of 19th-century realist painting and blended it with his own vision, influenced by Cubism, Constructivism, and the neo-figurative movements of the 20th century. Throughout his extensive career, he explored the figure, still life, landscape, and printmaking, in addition to excelling particularly in mural painting. Beginning in 1919, the year he held his first exhibition at the Galeries Laietanes in Barcelona, he presented his work in various Catalan cities, as well as in Madrid and Seville, and beyond Spain’s borders, in Buenos Aires and Venice, among other cities. Five years before his death, in 1984, the Barcelona City Council dedicated a major retrospective exhibition to him. Vila Arrufat pursued a steady career marked by a consistent stylistic refinement, creating serene, balanced, and harmonious works whose execution reflects his artistic personality. His painting is characterized by deep sensitivity and rich visual and chromatic qualities, marked by a subtle realism that eliminates all superficiality. Vila Arrufat’s works are currently represented in the National Art Museum of Catalonia and the Museum of the Abbey of Montserrat, as well as in the National Mint.