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Painting allowed Saumells to experiment with virtual space more than in sculpture. He uses colour not to describe and define elements, but to enhance the ambience of the painting; he knew how to create dense and interesting atmospheres. He preferred paper as a support, and in particular Japanese, tissue, vegetable and cellulose paper. Among the colourings, watercolour, aniline, tremp and wax; he frequently mixed paint with pencil and pen strokes. Sometimes, a multi-coloured work reveals traces of fine line drawings; in others an adorned prelate wears a cape coloured with a form of tachisme. Antipopes are a recurring theme in his paintings. Obese, adorned with polychrome garments, surrounded by courtesans, in situations of incontinence or lasciviousness. The attitudes and traits of these beings are cause for criticism by the artist. Lluís M. Saumells Panadés (1915- 1999). He held his first exhibition in Tarragona, in 1934, at the Ateneu Tarraconense, and in 1945 moved to Paris with a scholarship from the French government. On his return from France, in 1949, he was appointed the Director of the Studio-School of Art of the Diputació of Tarragona, the city where he would make his home, except for occasional stays in Palma. The artist, using a defined volume presents a minimum of details, creating his own typology with which he would work constantly, with minor variations: expressionist figures of hands with long and thin fingers and angular faces. The same characteristics are also applied to his pictorial and paper production. His commitment to art would result in him becoming a true promoter of culture in the city. Text by Enric Baixeras

Details

  • Title: Antipope
  • Creator Lifespan: 1915 - 1999
  • Creator Nationality: spanish
  • Creator Gender: male
  • Creator Death Place: Tarragona
  • Creator Birth Place: Gironella (Barcelona)
  • Date: 1974 - 1974
  • sculptor: Saumells
  • Physical Dimensions: w25 x h35 cm
  • Type: Mixed technique on paper

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