Ramón de Capmany Montaner (1899-1992) - San Pol de Mar, el Maresme. Playa con barcas y figuras

\Artist: Ramón de Capmany Montaner (1899-1992)
Technique: Oil on canvas\Signature: Hand signed\Dimensions: 58_5_72_cm
Oil on canvas, signed on the upper left corner With a good frame Capmany Montaner, Ramón. Canet de Mar (Bar celona) , 3. 8. 1899 – Barcelona, 20. 1. 1992. Painter, drawer and engraver. He was born into a noble family; on his mother’s side he was a descendant of the first count of the Vall de Canet, founder of the famous publishing house Montaner i Simó, one of the most important in the country and the introducer of Gustave Doré's engravings in Spain. His uncle, the modernist architect Lluís Doménech i Montaner, supported him in his decision to devote himself to painting. He was a disciple of the teacher and painter Francesc Labarta, first in the Lonja and then at the Districto V school. In this environment he joined the group Els Evolucionistes, nonconformists with the idealistic Noucentisme, who later merged with the group Les Arts i els Artistas. His first oils show influences by Monet's master Eugenie Boudin, whose work he discovered during his long stays in Paris. Between 1918 and 1922, 1924 and 1925 he painted there, in particular, urban landscapes with influences of impressionist painting. He also took the opportunity to attend drawing classes at La Grand Chaumerie academy. His passion for the circus led him to paint one of the first known oil paintings of his Parisian period, Figuras (1919) . In 1921 he had the opportunity to exhibit his work individually at the Dalmau Gallery. In 1923 he participated in the Plandiura Competition. The two works he presented, La Fuente and Gente de mar, were selected and awarded. His creations of those years show a certain influence of Cezanne’s constructivism. In 1925 he was awarded for his participation in the New York Travelling Exhibition. After numerous exhibitions, in 1931, he received the Medalla de Oro del Círculo Artístico at the exhibition Barcelona vista por sus artistas. A year later he obtained the Escolania de Montserrat Prize at the competition Montse rrat visto por los pintores catalanes, organised by the Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc. Capmany painted the largest picture of his career. Entitled La muerte del monaguillo, it was inspired in a poem by Verdaguer, and on a formal level certain influences of the Greco and Gustave Courbet can be highlighted. At the end of 1933 he made the set for Falla’s Amor brujo, at the Gran Teatro del Liceo, a set design that received the unanimous applause of the critics. After the interruption of the Civil War, Capmany installed an intaglio workshop at the Montaner i Simó publishing house and he worked as artistic director of the publishing house. His work gave a strong boost to bibliophilia and also provided a unique learning framework for other artists, such as Jaume Pla, Jaume Coscolla and Enric Tormo. He started the "Hora" collection, and among the many books illustrated by him we can highlight Sempiternae Voces, in 1948, with text and illustrations by the painter. He continued to paint, especially landscapes, although the settings changed. He left his Canet de Mar memories– with painted atmospheres which remind us of Corot's – to focus on the Montseny landscapes. The thoroughness with which he painted the trees, the city, the old streets of Barcelona, as well as the circus themes, were also protagonists of his work, repeatedly exposed and applauded in the Sala Parés.