Jaume Mercadé

JAUME MERCADÉ QUERALT (Valls, Tarragona, 1887/89 – Barcelona, 1967). “Landscape,” 1944.
Oil on canvas.
It has two patches on the back.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 55 x 65 cm.
A painter, goldsmith, and jeweler, Jaume Mercadé trained at the Francesc Galí School. He settled permanently in Barcelona in 1916, and over the next two years embarked on a journey that would take him to Paris and various German cities. Upon his return, he was appointed professor at the School of Arts and Crafts in Barcelona. A tireless worker, he participated in numerous competitions and received awards on multiple occasions, including recognition as a jeweler. His primary subject was always the Tarragona landscape, though he also painted portraits, nudes, and still lifes. His painting is highly personal in both its artistic and technical aspects; in fact, he used sand and marble dust to achieve the roughness of the earth and the texture of the carob tree trunks, which are so abundant in the fields of Tarragona. His son, Jordi Mercadé Farrés, was also a painter, having initially trained under his father. Jaume Mercadé’s work is represented at MACBA, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Madrid, the Art Museum of Vilanova i la Geltrú, the museums in Tossa, Mollet del Vallès, and Hospitalet de Llobregat, and, in particular, at the museum in his hometown, Valls, where an entire gallery has been dedicated to him.