Portrait of the sculptor Carles Mani

"This painting was never exhibited during the artist’s life.
The portrait of the sculptor Carles Mani (Tarragona, 1866 - Barcelona, 1911) is undoubtedly one of Rusiñol most disconcerting paintings. The man’s tense facial expression, the wary look in his eyes and his sullen position show a tormented and taciturn man and, at the same time, the misunderstood and damned artist that Mani always was.
Rusiñol only paints the man’s upper body, who is sitting on a chair with his left arm dangling over the back. The sculptor’s dark face and black jacket are outlined against a bold, two-colour background, made up of the shades of red on the wall and the yellow counterpane, a colour than is clearly inspired on the yellow clothes worn by El Greco’s Saint Peter.
Rusiñol met Carles Mani and his artist friend, Pere Ferran, in Paris. In 1894, Mani was awarded a scholarship by the Diputació (Provincial Council) of Tarragona and he decided to share it with Ferran, which meant that both men ended up living an adventure of real misery, from which Rusiñol saves them."