Encounters with the collection

The Monasterio de Piedra was a common theme in the Carlos de Haes' work. The artist neglects the romantic image of the place and commits himself to reflect the result of direct observation of an exuberant nature and deploy the aesthetics then in vogue at the artistic centers.

During the 1880s, Jaume Morera's work was dominated by a melancholic air. Note the inclusion of the sea as a pictorial theme through the visions of port cities, which favour the use of reflections and lighting effects in rough, baroque, and full of charm compositions.

Submitted at the National Exhibition of 1884, this still life is a very early example of how Jaume Morera's palette became clearer as the artist shifted towards pictorial intimacy and symbolism in his final years.

Rendered during his scholarship stay in Rome, this painting depicts a rural theme bathed in a warm light, giving a magical air to an everyday scene. The work is also a sign of Gili i Roig's aim to approach directly to the scene he wanted to paint, as it is revealed by a photograph preserved in his personal archive which is nearly identical to the final work.

Traditionally considered a work by Antoni Samarra, after a detailed study it was concluded that this painting was rendered by Nicolau Raurich.

Antoni Samarra combined this occupation as a stonecutter with —mostly self-taught— drawing and painting, rendering artworks filled with a specific brightness, directly related to his discovery of the Mediterranean light.

Stacia Napierkowska, a French actress who starred in over 80 movies during the silent era, stands out among all the women portrayed by Gosé.

"Viladrich is a revolutionary painter. But it should be defined how far in the past his desire for renewal and amendment goes backwards. Of course, Viladrich is not a pictorial anarchist, [...] Viladrich stays pretty much closer; he is a primitive." (Ramón Pérez de Ayala, c. 1918)

Before diving into non-figurative art, Leandre Cristòfol practiced a kind of sculpture rooted in a reality that was much closer to him. From this substrate, the artist drew true archetypes, especially female ones.

Josep Benseny, only 21 years old in 1935, produced this poster for Leandre Cristòfol’s second solo exhibition held in Lleida.

Six artworks aligned with the Surrealist aesthetics, such as "Morfologia" —one of the most successful works of Leandre Cristòfol before the Spanish Civil War— were presented in the artist’s second solo exhibition in Lleida, held in 1935.

Leandre Cristòfol’s “Morfologies” set the starting point of a figurative phase among the artist's production, defined by the development of oniric two-dimensional shapes, which were eventually replaced by the objectual artworks.

"Cosa lírica" —afterwards called "De l’aire a l’aire"— was a turning point in Leandre Cristòfol’s artistic production, and revealed the result of a research initiated by the artist in order to find his own, original track. This sculpture was the first non-figurative work exhibited publicly in Lleida, in 1933.

In the 30s, Cristòfol rendered intensively threadlike morphologies, while approaching to the poetics of Surrealism and thus connecting with the aesthetics used by the most prominent figures of that time.

Along with "L’espectre de les Tres Gràcies dins l’aura subtil", this collage is one of the most successful works by Antoni Garcia Lamolla. It is part of the Museum’s collection since 2005, when it was donated by the artist’s family.

Mostrada en la exposición de ADLAN celebrada en Madrid el 1935, "L’espectre de les Tres Gràcies dins l’aura subtil" es considerada una de las mejores obras de Antoni Garcia Lamolla, así como una de las obras clave del surrealismo en Catalunya.

This painting was on display at the “Logicofobista” exhibition held in Barcelona’s Galeries Catalònia between the 4 th and the 15th May, 1936. This was the largest collective Surrealist exhibition in Spain.

Rendered during the Spanish Civil War, this artwork is a greatly lyric assemblage that reveals apparently oblivious to the upheaval times that surrounded its inception.

Designed as artworks in constant motion, Leandre Cristòfol’s “ralentís” (idlings) have been considered prefigurations of kinetic art in Catalonia, and constitute one of the most outstanding sets of his artistic production.

Ton Sirera became the most outstanding avant-garde photographer thanks to his commitment to abstract photography by the means of accurate works of macro-photography and aerial photography.

"[Sirera] knows what to see and his sensitivity knows what to choose." (Sebastià Gasch)

Part of the series dedicated to machines, this work belongs to the period when Lluís Trepat decided to settle in Barcelona and chose to leave the abstract work to evolve towards an expressive and highly distorted figuration.

As the 60s went through, Lluís Trepat’s painting becomes brighter and the colour became the protagonist of a series of much more intimate and narrative artworks.

"Since Grup Cogul, our painting became different. We showed what we painted, regardless of whether people liked it or not, if we could sell it or not. We knew we wouldn’t sell it but we wanted to make those paintings." (Ernest Ibáñez Neach)

This is the smallest piece of the museum's collection. It consists of an ice cube, a transparent container that encapsulates calligraphic strokes. When Benet Rosell was in Paris, carrying the cubes in his pocket, he improvised exhibitions wherever he went, before finally slipping each piece into a small glass cup.

Benet Rossell’s artistic language is rooted in the study of Far Eastern calligraphy and ideographic alphabets. Based on micrographics, the artist creates a miniaturized world that invites to be deciphered, entering a neverending universe, that transcends space and time.

“Niko” stood out for his "carigrafies" portraits of famous figures of the 20th century; their characteristic features are rendered with a highly synthetic expression, which that became the artist’s hallmark.

Àngel Jové returned to painting in 1982. However, artworks as this one are rather continuative: they maintain a photographic conception and Jové’s usual chromatism, to which new synthetic enamel colours are added while the presence of symbolic and poetic elements gets accentuated as they are mixed with disturbing characters or scenery.

Since the mid 90s, Josep Minguell focused on the fresco mural painting, a medium in which he has become a model. However, his previous work also includes large pieces like this triptych, which highlights the experimental and expressive point of view that characterizes him.

"Oli pels pobres" (Oil for the poor) is a work about inception. Oscillating between abstraction and figuration, from a vision of sacred art that emerges from the concept of emptiness, forms and contents show a telluric foundation and a transforming vision at once.

Mauri was very active in Lleida’s artistic life of the 80s. His oeuvre focuses on the serialized and completely abstract work of the colour fields, and this is the latest in a series of five paintings that exemplify his aesthetic stance in this regard.

This sculpture is a hybrid chrysalis of moths that live and feed on the books, to which Tonet Amorós called "Tineola Liberiella", commonly known as "Libertinella." Since 2004, a Libertinella is given to the winner of the Josep Vallverdú Essay Pize.