Ramón Casas Carbó

RAMON CASAS CARBÓ (Barcelona, 1866 - 1932).
"Lady.
Oil on canvas.
Attached certificate issued by Don Marcial Barrachina Ramoneda.
It has informative label on the back of Barrachina & Ramoneda.
It has slight losses of the pictorial layer on one side.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements. 77,5 x 66 cm; 105,5 x 92,5 cm (frame).
This painting by Ramon Casas presents us with a female representation of great subtlety and magnetism, in which the artist manages to capture the beauty and sensuality of the model with an unmistakable elegance. The woman, with an enigmatic gaze and serene expression, holds a light shawl with floral motifs that barely covers her torso, suggesting more than it shows. Her pose, with one arm bent at the waist and the other holding the cloth, reinforces her confidence and attractiveness, making her a captivating presence within the composition. This portrait is part of one of the recurring themes in Casas's work: the femme fatale. Influenced by modernist aesthetics and symbolism, the Catalan painter frequently explored the image of the woman as a powerful and seductive being, charged with mystery and independence. In his female portraits, Casas not only reflects the physical beauty of his models, but also endows them with a psychological aura that makes them even more fascinating. In this particular painting, the model, with her aloof attitude and deliberately slow pose, embodies that idea of the modern woman, self-confident and with an irresistible air of sophistication.
Casas employs a refined play of light and shadow to gently model the body, highlighting the smoothness of the skin and the volumes in a natural way. The slight tilt of the head, together with the model's direct but reserved gaze, accentuate her charisma and make her the absolute center of attention. The fabric she holds, with its colorful and loose movement, introduces a vibrant counterpoint to the sobriety of the neutral background, adding a sensory dimension that reinforces the sense of intimacy in the scene. From the technical point of view, this work is a sample of Casas' pictorial mastery. His stroke is loose and fluid, achieving a balance between precision and spontaneity. The brushstroke is soft and enveloping, characteristic of Catalan modernism, and the use of warm and muted tones contributes to create a harmonious and enveloping atmosphere. The texture of the skin is worked with great delicacy, achieving an almost ethereal effect, while the representation of the canvas stands out for its chromatic richness and its loose, almost impressionistic treatment.
An outstanding painter and draughtsman, Casas began painting as a disciple of Joan Vicens. In 1881 he made his first trip to Paris, where he completed his training at the Carolus Duran and Gervex academies. The following year he participated for the first time in an exhibition at the Sala Parés in Barcelona, and in 1883 he presented a self-portrait at the Salon des Champs Elysées in Paris, which earned him an invitation to become a member of the Salon de la Societé d'Artistes Françaises. He spent the following years traveling and painting between Paris, Barcelona, Madrid and Granada. In 1886, suffering from tuberculosis, he settled in Barcelona to recover. There he came into contact with Santiago Rusiñol, Eugène Carrière and Ignacio Zuloaga. After a trip through Catalonia with Rusiñol in 1889, Casas returned to Paris with his friend. The following year he took part in a group exhibition at the Sala Parés, together with Rusiñol and Clarasó, and in fact the three of them continued to hold joint exhibitions there until Rusiñol's death in 1931. His works at this time are halfway between academicism and French impressionism, in a sort of germ of what would later become Catalan modernism. His fame continued to spread throughout Europe, and he held successful exhibitions in Madrid and Berlin, as well as participating in the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. Casas settled permanently in Barcelona, immersed in the modernist environment, although he continued to travel to Paris for the annual salons. He financed the premises that would become a point of reference for the modernists, the café Els Quatre Gats, inaugurated in 1897. Two years later he organized his first individual exhibition at the Sala Parés. While his fame as a painter grew, Casas began to work as a graphic designer, adopting the Art Nouveau style that came to define Catalan Modernism. In the following years his successes followed: he presented two works at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900, won a prize in Munich in 1901, several of his works were included in the permanent exhibition of the Círculo del Liceo, had several international exhibitions and, in 1904, won first prize at the General Exhibition in Madrid. He is represented in the Prado Museum, the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, the Reina Sofia National Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the Museum of Montserrat, the Cau Ferrat in Sitges, the Camón Aznar Museum in Zaragoza and the Contemporary Art Museums of Barcelona and Seville, among many others.