Francesc Bordas and Miquel Darenys

Dionís Baixeras Verdaguer was born in Barcelona in 1862. At the age of 15 he enrolled at the Escola de Belles Arts (Llotja), where he learned many different artistic techniques, specialising in drawing. Baixeras showed great ability and talent from his earliest days, and won many art competitions. His teachers at the Llotja, Ramon Martí i Alsina and Antoni Caba, instructed him in the naturalist style, which had a great influence on him. Baixeras believed that art should always have a social function, and his later career became increasingly based on this idea. In time, his work took on a moralising tone, as his religious belief grew. In fact, at the end of his career he declared that he wished he had only painted religious subjects. Dionís Baixeras was also a leading exponent of easel painting and murals. His most significant oil paintings include mountain landscapes (many of which were inspired by the Camprodon area), seascapes, cloudscapes and scenes of shepherds and sailors at work.

This canvas shows a portrait of Francesc Bordas and Miguel Darenys, two men who were closely linked with the sea.