Emilio Sala

EMILIO SALA FRANCÉS (Alcoy, Alicante, 1850 - Madrid, 1910).
Untitled.
Oil on canvas.
Presents multiple restorations on the pictorial surface and missing in the frame.
Signed in the inferior zone.
Measurements: 82.5 x 135 cm; 96 x 144 cm (frame).
The scene shows a pedestal of classical inspiration dominated by the presence of a goat's head, on which rests a large bouquet of flowers. The scene is softly illuminated with pastel colors that bring a light of gentle, golden character that seems to filter from the background. The pink, yellow and white flowers provide a vibrant contrast This floral detail seems to be a focal point on which the light is concentrated, highlighting its delicacy and emphasizing the link between nature and beauty. The overall mood of the work has a romantic and melancholic air, very much in keeping with the taste of the time.
Emilio Sala studied at the San Carlos School of Fine Arts in Valencia, where he was a disciple of his cousin, the painter Plácido Francés. In 1871 he made his first trip to Madrid, where he dedicated himself to studying and copying the works of the masters of the Prado Museum, especially those of Velázquez. At that time he began his participation in the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts, obtaining first medals in the editions of 1878 and 1881. In 1885 he travels to Rome on a scholarship to study the Italian Renaissance, and there he befriends Francisco Padilla, Federico de Madrazo and Joaquín Sorolla. Later he exchanged his scholarship and moved to Paris, where he took part in the Universal Exhibition of 1889, obtaining a second medal. In 1891 he obtained the Gold Medal at the Berlin Exposition. He participated in the Salon des Beaux-Arts of the Champs Elysées for several years, with literary works, genre paintings and some portraits. From 1890 he moved away from history painting, much in demand in Spain but little valued in France, and devoted himself to genre painting, landscape and illustration, in publications such as "Blanco y Negro" or "La Ilustración Española y Americana". On his return to Spain he settled permanently in Madrid, and in 1906 he was created for him the chair of Theory and Aesthetics of Color at the School of Fine Arts of San Fernando. Among his disciples were María Blanchard and Cecilio Pla, and he published "La gramática del color", a work that was used as a textbook in the Fine Arts Schools of Madrid and Barcelona. In the capital Sala opened his own studio, and took part in the decoration of the Palaces of Anglada and Mazarredo. He was appointed academician of merit at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, and received the Cross of St. Michael (Munich, 1885) and the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (1899). Emilio Sala's work is present in the Hispanic Society of New York, the Prado Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in Madrid, the Municipal Fine Arts Museums of Granada, Valencia, l'Empordà, Cáceres, Santander and Málaga, the Lázaro Galdiano, the Camón Aznar, the Theater Museum in Almagro and the National Museum of Fine Arts in Santiago de Chile, among many others.