Ricard Martí Aguiló

RICARD MARTÍ AGUILÓ (Barcelona, 1857–1935).
Set of four landscapes.
Oil on panel.
One signed "R.M." in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 13.5 x 22 cm each; 15 x 23.5 cm (frames).

This set of landscapes is part of the tradition of Catalan realist landscape painting that developed between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the depiction of nature gradually moved away from the idealized and theatrical vision of Romanticism to focus on direct observation of the environment, the capture of light, and atmospheric truth.

Ricard Martí Aguiló, son and disciple of Ramon Martí Alsina, developed a realist body of work centered on landscape, seascape, portraiture, and still life. In 1891, he participated in the General Exhibition of Fine Arts in Barcelona, and that same year he painted the Portrait of Narcís Monturiol, which is currently part of the Gallery of Illustrious Catalans at the Barcelona History Museum. His connection to Cadaqués also had a documentary aspect, as he practiced amateur photography there and left behind numerous sketches of the town and its surroundings.