Carles Nadal

CARLES NADAL FARRERAS (Paris, 1917 - Sitges, Barcelona, 1998).
"Homage to Pablo Picasso". 1981.
Gouache on cardboard.
Signed and dedicated "al mestre amic del seu centenari" in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 49 x 69 cm.

This painting by Carles Nadal is a significant work within his career: a synthesis between his playful language and his recognition of the tradition of the modern avant-garde, embodied in the figure of Pablo Picasso, of whom Nadal considered himself the spiritual heir.

The painting is constructed from flat, juxtaposed surfaces, in which figurative forms, inscriptions and fragments of landscape coexist. Inside a medallion is inscribed the date "1881-1981", a clear reference to the centenary of Pablo Picasso's birth. From this circle radiate names of avant-garde artists: Dalí, Picabia, Juan Gris, Braque, Chagall.... The names seem to float in the pictorial space, forming a constellation of influences and affinities, as if Picasso radiated on all of them. In large and emphatic letters, the name "Pablo Picasso" is read, turned into a plastic element.

A horse with a naïve appearance, a direct homage to the symbolic animals of Picasso's universe (Guernica, bullfighting, Mediterranean horses), executed with a free stroke. An anthropomorphic or biomorphic figure that seems to be carrying a tray is interpreted as an allegory of the artist who offers his homage or as a metaphor of service to creation.

The background is constructed from fragments of color that evoke windows or fragmentary landscapes: blues, yellows, reds, intense greens, arranged with Nadal's characteristic vibrant and optimistic brushstrokes.

The son of Santiago Nadal, a painter and decorator based in Paris, Carles Nadal has lived in Barcelona since childhood, where the family moved due to his father's illness. At the age of thirteen he began to work as an apprentice in a decorative painting workshop, and in 1936 he received a scholarship from the City Council of Barcelona to study at the School of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi. At the outbreak of the Civil War he was recruited into the Republican army, with which he fought on the fronts of Aragon and Tremp. After being arrested, he returns to Barcelona under liberty, and there he continues his artistic career while simultaneously working as a decorator and studying Fine Arts. In 1941 he makes his debut in a collective exhibition at the Dalmau Gallery, obtaining good reviews. He finishes his studies and exhibits individually for the first time in 1944, at the Pinacoteca Gallery in Barcelona. Two years later he moves to Paris, again with a scholarship from the Barcelona City Council. There he works and exhibits with the group Présence de l'Homme, as well as participating in the Salons d'Automne. Later, thanks to a scholarship from the French State, he attends the Paris School of Fine Arts. In 1948 he married Flore Joris, establishing his residence in Brussels, where he remained until the mid-seventies. In Belgium he discovered, as he himself repeatedly stated, light and color. During these years he will continue to show his work in Spain and Belgium as well as in France, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Nadal's painting is post-impressionist, intensely colorful, and is based on the search for chromatic force as the most direct means of communication. His awards include the Grand Prix de Spa, Belgium, and his appointment as a member of the Royal Academy of London. His works can be found in the MACBA, the Spa Museum in Belgium and the Royal Museum of Brussels.