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Lot Essay
Dionisio Baixeras y Verdaguer made his reputation as one of Spain's foremost genre painters in the latter part of the 19th Century. His compositions focused on the daily life of the Catalan people and, in particular, the lives of the fisherfolk who made Barcelona the important port that it was. His pictures demonstrate the influence of the French artists Millet, Breton and Bastien-Lepage whose works also celebrated the daily lives and customs of the peasant. Like those of French contemporaries, Baxieras' pictures were acclaimed for their realism and enjoyed recognition both at home and abroad. He was honored with medals in Madrid in 1884, Paris in 1886 and Barcelona in 1888, and was invited to participate in the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900.
In 1886, Baixeras travelled to Paris where he was able to study the French Realists firsthand. This experience had a profound impact on his work. His commitment to naturalism and his sensitive portrayal of the life of the peasants, farmers and fishermen is evident in his idealized depiction of these individuals in his compositions. In order to convey a sense of accuracy to his pictures he worked directly from nature, first sketching apuntes hastily en situ to capture his impressions of the scenes, later developing them into finished works in his studio.
In The Boatmen of Barcelona the artist depicts three fishermen in their boat in the middle of Barcelona's harbor, taking a moment's break from their labors to enjoy conversation and a smoke. Through the compositional devise of thrusting the boat into the foreground, Baixeras enables the viewer to participate in the scene.
The present picture is a version of a larger painting by the same title that Baixeras exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1886. This painting is now in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
In 1886, Baixeras travelled to Paris where he was able to study the French Realists firsthand. This experience had a profound impact on his work. His commitment to naturalism and his sensitive portrayal of the life of the peasants, farmers and fishermen is evident in his idealized depiction of these individuals in his compositions. In order to convey a sense of accuracy to his pictures he worked directly from nature, first sketching apuntes hastily en situ to capture his impressions of the scenes, later developing them into finished works in his studio.
In The Boatmen of Barcelona the artist depicts three fishermen in their boat in the middle of Barcelona's harbor, taking a moment's break from their labors to enjoy conversation and a smoke. Through the compositional devise of thrusting the boat into the foreground, Baixeras enables the viewer to participate in the scene.
The present picture is a version of a larger painting by the same title that Baixeras exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1886. This painting is now in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.