Ricardo Opisso

RICARDO OPISSO I SALA (Tarragona, 1880 - Barcelona, 1966).
"Strolling in a Parisian Park".
Mixed media on paper.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Attached certificate of authenticity by Josep Maria Cadena.
Measurements: 47 x 60 cm. 77,5 x 88,5 cm. (frame).
Ricardo Opisso developed a refined anthropological sensibility, which he captured in juicy portraits of Parisian and Barcelona high society. Here, an elegant lady seated in her carriage, the coachman and her husband using their binoculars, look with great curiosity at something that is happening outside the field. Narrative detail and finesse of draughtsmanship are combined in these anecdotal scenes.
Opisso was a painter, draughtsman and cartoonist. In his youth he took part in Barcelona's modernist milieu, and in 1894 he began to work as an apprentice with Antoni Gaudí on the Sagrada Família. Two years later, backed by the architect, he joined the Círculo de Sant Lluc. He was linked to the group Els Quatre Gats. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century he made a trip to Paris, where Picasso and Hugué were already there. Throughout his career Opisso worked as an illustrator for publications such as "Cu-cut!" and "L'Esquella de la Torratxa". In 1907 he took part in the Fine Arts Exhibition in Barcelona and was awarded a third-class medal. In 1953 he received recognition from his home town at the 4th Tarragona Art Fair. Most of his work is kept in the Opisso Museum in Barcelona, but it is also present in the National Art Museum of Catalonia and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Strasbourg.