Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem

An unusual and emblematic painting from Catalan Modernisme depicting Ramon Casas himself and Pere Romeu, the barman at the famous beer-hall Els Quatre Gats, pedalling on a tandem with the Barcelona skyline in the distance. The canvas decorated the beer-hall, which became a meeting-place for the artists and intellectuals who had started the movement, as well as for members of the younger generation, such as Picasso, Mir and Nonell. The painting's decorative purpose, its humorous tone and its style put 'The Tandem' in the realm of the poster technique, a field in which Ramon Casas had made quite a name for himself. In 1900 the canvas was replaced with another depicting the same characters in a car.