Ramon Casas: 9 works

'This painting was made by Ramon Casas (Barcelona, 1866-1932) in 1891 during his third stay in Paris.'

'"In this work we can appreciate the exquisite technique and chromatic quality of Ramon Casas (Barcelona, 1866- 1932) in his search of the integration of the figure in its background, in this case a blue courtyard in Sitges.'

'"Both objects that share this Ramon Casas nude, a picture frame and a guitar, leaned on the wall at the back, make us think that "Nude and guitar" possibly was painted in the painter's studio, placed in the number 94 of the Gràcia Promenade in Barcelona, where his family settled on the year 1894 and where he had a wide and bright space, designed specifically as a studio, that became at the same time a meeting place and a headquarters of several initiatives and cultural activities as the magazine Pel&Ploma. We explain the presence of the guitar because Casas was a skilled performer of this instrument, since he learned to play it during his stays in Granada."'

'"The collections of the museums of Sitges have three paintings by Ramon Casas ( Barcelona, 1866-1932) representing female nude; Nude with guitar, Feminine nudity in perspective and Feminine nudity.'

'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 advances of the 19th century were a direct consequence of the collaboration between Casas, Utrillo and other people linked to the 'Pèl & Ploma' (Fur & Feather) magazine.'

'Seen here is its transformation into pictures drawn by Ramon Casas, with couplets written by Gabriel Alomar.'

'In 1909 Ramon Casas invites him to his country to paint portraits of his acquaintances.'

'Curiously, in this painting there is a definite similarity between Casas's art and that of some of his contemporaries: his rendering of the skirt by means of parallel brushstrokes recalls Toulouse-Lautrec's technique and the colour range of the portrait evokes Picasso's blue period. There is even a trace of Ignacio Zuloaga -- in theory so distant from Casas's artistic approach -- particularly in the use of the reds and blacks that offset the pearly whiteness of the model's complexion, with her soft delicate traits, the almost metallic coldness of the dress and the neutral background, achieved by rubbing the paint on the canvas.'