Josep Obiols

JOSEP OBIOLS PALAU (Barcelona, 1894 - 1967).
"Vilassar Beach", 1942.
Oil on board.
Signed and dated.
Measurements: 35,5 x 27 cm; 51 x 43 cm (frame).

This work dialogues with other coastal views made by Obiols in Mediterranean enclaves during the forties, where the artist progressively distances himself from the more orthodox noucentisme to explore a more immediate painting, without ever losing the sense of order, clarity and measurement that defines his production.

Playa de Vilassar is thus an excellent example of the most personal side of Josep Obiols: a painting of observation, balance and restrained modernity, which reveals the validity of his language beyond the great decorative programs that made him famous.

An outstanding representative of Noucentisme, Obiols participated in the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, painting the interiors of the National Palace of Montjuic. During the war he designed paper money for the Department of Economy and Finance of the Generalitat de Catalunya. He is currently represented in the Library of Catalonia and other public and private collections.