Josep de Togores

JOSEP DE TOGORES (Cerdanyola del Vallès, 1893 - Barcelona, 1970)
"Children playing", 1931
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
With labels on the back of the Sala Gaspar (Barcelona) and the Carnegie Institute (Pittsburgh), where the work was exhibited.
Catalogued, nº 78.
Measurements: 64 × 100 cm.

Child scene of great delicacy in which Josep de Togores represents several children immersed in the game inside a domestic space. The composition, organized in a slow rhythm of figures distributed in the foreground, transmits a sensation of intimacy and seclusion, where each gesture -from the concentration in the game to the interaction between the characters- is treated with special sensitivity.

The work is part of the artist's mature stage, characterized by a refined figuration, simplified volumes and soft contours. The clear and nuanced palette, together with a controlled but lively brushstroke, reflects Togores' evolution towards a more serene and balanced language, in which the representation of childhood becomes a vehicle for harmony, order and everyday beauty.

Josep de Togores was an outstanding figure in 20th century Catalan painting. Trained in Barcelona, he furthered his studies in Paris, where he came into contact with the European avant-garde and with artists such as Picasso, as well as receiving the decisive influence of Cézanne. During the 1920s he worked with the famous art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, which consolidated his international projection.

His work is preserved in important institutions such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid), the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (Barcelona), the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (Madrid), the Getty Museum (Los Angeles) and the Centre Pompidou (Paris), among others.