The Brass Band

From the outset of his career Sert was acknowledged as a great decorative painter. His global conception of the project, the quality of its execution, the perfect adaptation of the compositions to the pre-existing space and the judicious choice of subjects were all highly praised elements of his work. The present series possesses all these qualities. Despite the fact that it consists of fifteen separate panels it has astonishing visual coherence achieved through the use of colour and the repeated motif of the curtain. Although all different, these fifteen paintings share a compositional rhythm once again defined by the fall of the curtains, the architectural elements around which the different scenes are constructed (staircases, platforms, tables, etc) and the importance within each scene of accessories, textiles and hats. Each composition has been specially devised for the location in which it was designed within the dining room.

From photographs of the original installation of this series it is known that the curtains painted in Sert’s canvases visually continued the real curtains hanging at the large windows on each wall of the dining room, of which the ones not opening onto the street were covered with mirrors. The visual cadence created by the alternation of the paintings and the openings in the wall gave the dining room the feel of a space at once open and compact. It is to be assumed that, as with many of his projects, Sert worked here in collaboration with the architect of the hotel in order to control every detail of the room that he was decorating and to achieve the decorative and unified effect that he had in mind. It is known that on numerous occasions Sert was directly involved in the design of the lighting and even of the furniture.