Rafael Durán

RAFAEL DURÁN I BENET (Terrassa, 1931 - Barcelona, 2015).
"Cadaqués". 1987.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
With label on the back of the Sala Parés and Sala Vayreda.
Measurements: 60 × 50 cm, 82 × 70 cm (frame).

View of Cadaqués interpreted through a language of formal and chromatic synthesis, characteristic of the Catalan painting of the second half of the 20th century. Durán i Benet structures the composition through planes of color and a loose brushstroke that simplifies the architecture and landscape into essential volumes.

Rafael Durán began his training with his uncle Rafael Benet, from whom he learned his chromatic conception. Thanks to the guidance of Manolo Hugué and Rafael Llimona he begins his pictorial career around 1946. He made his individual debut at the Sala Vayreda in Barcelona in 1958, and two years later he began his collaboration with the Sala Parés, with whom he continues to work today. Among his numerous awards are the Diputación de Barcelona Prize (1967), the Flores y Jardines del Círculo Artístico de Barcelona (1973) and the Henri Forman of the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts de Paris (1980).