Portrait of Conchita Monrás

Concha Monrás Casas (Barcelona, 1898 – Huesca, 1936) was an energetic and independent woman ahead of her time. She was an utterly devoted companion to her husband, Ramón Acín Aquilué (Huesca, 1888 – 1936), an anarchist painter, sculptor, draftsman, journalist and teacher. The emergence of photography at the end of the 19th century made it possible to show reality in a completely truthful way. This led portrait painters to search for other artistic forms. They used technique, shape, and color in new ways to produce effects the camera could not capture, exploring avenues that freed them from the problems of creating an exact likeness. This portrait, which Acín Aquilué painted around 1934, is an example of this. It is incredibly expressive, and seems to capture the psychology of a woman who is strong, safe, and loved; a woman who has a lot to say.