Antoni Fuster i Banús

ANTONI FUSTER I BANÚS (Reus, 1865 - 1950).
"Il contino".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 54,5 x 45,5 cm.
This work Antoni Fuster i Banús makes a copy in oil of similar format to the original, as a compositional study, of the watercolor titled "Il contino" by Marià Fortuny, which is currently in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. "Il Contino" (1861) is Fortuny's first approach to genre themes and one of the works of his first Roman period in which he demonstrates the greatest virtuosity. It became one of the masterpieces of the Catalan artist's beginnings, when he was living in Rome thanks to a pension granted by the Diputación de Barcelona. At only 23 years of age, the painter enjoyed great technical skill, which he reflected in the drawing referred to. In front of the Baroque fountain in the gardens of the Villa Borghese, a young man is depicted with an air of affected and distant elegance, emphasized by his 18th century clothing -coat, vest and shirt-, his rapier and powdered wig. It is a figure that responds to a common typology of the time, but to which Fortuny imprints his own stamp. His artistic skill can be appreciated in the original in the subtlety with which he recreates the transparency of the water flowing from the fountain, the skill in the distribution of the shadows or in the splendid sense of color. This work by Fortuny is a magnificent example of the so-called casacón painting, characterized by the meticulousness of the description and the sensitivity of the light. However, Fuster i Banús is not interested in these aspects but in the expressiveness of the composition and setting itself.
Antoni Fuster i Banús stood out as a notable watercolor painter in the artistic environment of Reus. A student of the painters Domènec Soberano and Josep Tapiró i Baró, Banús specialized in the realization of landscapes, especially of Reus and Tarragona, and of seascapes that become an important documentary source of how these cities were years ago. He was part of the Agrupación de Acuarelistas, exhibiting his work in different cities such as Barcelona and Madrid, becoming a teacher of artists such as Ceferí Olivé and Francesc Torné, among others.