José Mirabent Gatell

JOSÉ MIRABENT GATELL (Barcelona, 1831 - 1899).
"Cluster of grapes", 1881.
Oil on panel.
Signed, dated and dedicated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 36 x 29 cm; 55 x 45 cm (frame),
José Mirabent studied at the School of La Lonja in Barcelona, where he was a disciple of Pablo Milá Fontanals, Claudio Lorenzale and Segismundo Ribó, from whom he received the influence of the Nazarene aesthetics. In 1855 he entered as an assistant at the aforementioned school, obtaining in 1872 the category of professor of decorative painting, fabrics and prints. In his first period he can be considered as a romantic painter attached to the Nazarene line of his masters, and he painted mainly portraits and still lifes with flowers and fruits. Later he specialized in interior decoration, an activity in which his work for the Gran Teatro del Liceo and the University of Barcelona, the Balaguer Museum in Vilanova i la Geltrú and the Madrid churches of Buen Suceso, the Salesas Reales and the convent of the Madres Reparadoras are especially noteworthy. With his paintings of flowers and fruits he took part in the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts, in Madrid, and obtained several prizes: honorable mention in those of 1856 and 1858, third medal in those of 1860 and 1867, and decoration in 1871. He was also awarded a gold medal at the Universal Exposition in Barcelona in 1888. As a portrait painter he portrayed Pablo Piferrer, Ramón Anglasells and Joaquín Rey Esteve, among others. In 1892 he took part in the First Modernist Festival. He is widely represented in the MNAC, as well as in the Prado Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the Romantic Museum in Madrid, the Royal Academy of Sant Jordi, the Ateneo and the Gallery of Illustrious Catalans in Barcelona, etc.