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Lot Essay
Francisco Miralles was raised in Barcelona and received his first artistic training from Ramon Marti Alsina. When he was fifteen he travelled to Paris for the first time and three years later he moved there, remaining for the next twenty-seven years. He worked for a while in the studio of Arturo Canela which was a meeting place for Catalan artists in Paris. Through his compatriot Eduardo Zamacois, Miralles met the prestigious art dealer Adolphe Goupil who began to commission paintings from the young artist. Goupil was also the agent for Giovanni Boldini, Jean Léon Gérôme and William Adolphe Bouguereau, whose careers he had helped establish. Miralles' talent was quickly acknowledged and his paintings were avidly collected, many being sold even before they were finished (C. Gonzales and M. Marti, Spanish Painters in Paris, London, 1987, p. 184). He exhibited regularly at the Paris Salons from 1875-1896, in Barcelona's Sala Pares, and in numerous international exhibitions in London, Berlin, Dieppe, Montpelier and America.
While Miralles' early paintings showed the influence of Fortuny and were executed in dark tones, Goupil encouraged him to lighten his palette and to depict themes of everyday life. The pictures from his Paris period were characterized by their meticulous brushwork and pastel palette. In Before the Races at Longchamp Miralles captures the elegance of life in Paris during the Belle Epoque. Set at the racetrack of Longchamp in the Bois de Boulogne, Miralles depicts the upperclass at leisure, sipping champagne as they await the races. The races at Longchamp served as a popular outing for Parisian society who used the track as a venue to socialize and to parade the latest in fashion and high-style. The contemporary writer Jules Janin commented, "Where will you find a more animated sight (than) at the promenade of Longchamp?..of elegance, of luxury...People were no longer there merely to exhibit themselves but to be judged" (quoted in V. Steele, Paris Fashion--A Cultural History, New York, 1988, p. 169). Longchamp had been renovated in the 1850's as part of Baron Hausmann's master plan for the "new" Paris and artists as varied as Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec and De Nittis had all found inspiration in the bustling activity surrounding the racetrack. In an October 4, 1897 article from La Ilustración Artística, our painting is described as follows: "Animated as few other artists can, this spectacle presents the pelouse of a racetrack on the day of the races when, during the rest, the elegant ladies and gambling sportsmen are disposed to start their picnics. In preparation, they have brought their coaches with well stocked bars and everywhere toasts are being made to the appetites of the gourmets. Miralles, to whom few are close in ability to paint the life and atmosphere of society, has described to us this spectacle with his characteristic ability, offering us in his composition a collection of beautiful, graceful, distinguished figures who are admirably shown and who are of a type who are only found in aristocratic pastimes..."
While Miralles' early paintings showed the influence of Fortuny and were executed in dark tones, Goupil encouraged him to lighten his palette and to depict themes of everyday life. The pictures from his Paris period were characterized by their meticulous brushwork and pastel palette. In Before the Races at Longchamp Miralles captures the elegance of life in Paris during the Belle Epoque. Set at the racetrack of Longchamp in the Bois de Boulogne, Miralles depicts the upperclass at leisure, sipping champagne as they await the races. The races at Longchamp served as a popular outing for Parisian society who used the track as a venue to socialize and to parade the latest in fashion and high-style. The contemporary writer Jules Janin commented, "Where will you find a more animated sight (than) at the promenade of Longchamp?..of elegance, of luxury...People were no longer there merely to exhibit themselves but to be judged" (quoted in V. Steele, Paris Fashion--A Cultural History, New York, 1988, p. 169). Longchamp had been renovated in the 1850's as part of Baron Hausmann's master plan for the "new" Paris and artists as varied as Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec and De Nittis had all found inspiration in the bustling activity surrounding the racetrack. In an October 4, 1897 article from La Ilustración Artística, our painting is described as follows: "Animated as few other artists can, this spectacle presents the pelouse of a racetrack on the day of the races when, during the rest, the elegant ladies and gambling sportsmen are disposed to start their picnics. In preparation, they have brought their coaches with well stocked bars and everywhere toasts are being made to the appetites of the gourmets. Miralles, to whom few are close in ability to paint the life and atmosphere of society, has described to us this spectacle with his characteristic ability, offering us in his composition a collection of beautiful, graceful, distinguished figures who are admirably shown and who are of a type who are only found in aristocratic pastimes..."