Ramón Martí Alsina

RAMON MARTÍ ALSINA (Barcelona, 1826 - 1894).
"Landscape with Storm".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 43 x 96 cm; 76 x 129, 5 cm (frame).
This work by Ramón Martí Alsina represents a countryside landscape under a stormy sky and is a masterful example of his mastery of pictorial realism and his ability to capture the changing atmosphere of nature. In this landscape composition, the artist places us before a vast expanse of land, possibly inspired by the Catalan rural landscape, where the imminence of the storm is perceived in every element of the scene.
The sky occupies a large part of the work, with dense, moisture-laden clouds swirling in dark shades of gray and blue, presaging the arrival of rain. Martí Alsina's brushwork is vigorous and expressive, especially in the depiction of these cloud masses, where the hallmarks of light create an effect of depth and drama. As the storm approaches, a broken and uncertain light partially illuminates an area of the sky.Martí Alsina, influenced by the Barbizon school and French realism, demonstrates in this work his mastery in capturing the landscape as a living and changing organism.
Considered today as the most important figure of Spanish realism, Martí Alsina is framed within the European avant-garde of the time. He revolutionized the Spanish artistic panorama of the 19th century, he was a pioneer of the study of the natural, and creator of the modern Catalan school, as well as the master of a whole generation, with disciples of the importance of Vayreda, Urgell or Torrescassana. He began his studies in Philosophy and Literature, alternating them with night classes at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona until 1848. Once he finished this first apprenticeship and decided to take up painting, he took his first steps in the Maresme region, where he began to earn his living by painting portraits in a naturalistic style and landscapes "à plen air". In 1852 he became a teacher of line drawing at the Escuela de la Lonja in Barcelona, and two years later he began to teach figure drawing, a post he held until the accession to the throne of Amadeo de Saboya. In 1853 he traveled to Paris, where he visited the Louvre and became familiar with the work of Horace Vernet, Eugène Delacroix and French romanticism. Later he would become acquainted with the work of Gustave Courbet, the greatest exponent of realism. In 1859 he was appointed corresponding academician of the Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi in Barcelona. His first important exhibition was the General Exhibition of Fine Arts in Barcelona in 1851. From that moment on he exhibited regularly in Barcelona, Madrid and Paris, and was invited to the Universal Exhibition of the French capital in 1889. Among his prizes, the medals obtained in the National Exhibitions of Madrid stand out, third in 1858 with the work "Last day of Numancia" and second in 1860 with his landscape. In his last years he lived in seclusion, focusing his efforts on the search for new forms of expression, with a brushstroke close to impressionism. Among his themes we find numerous landscapes and seascapes, urban views (especially of Barcelona), portraits and human figures, genre scenes, temperamental female nudes, history painting and biblical scenes. On few occasions he dedicated himself to still life, although he also painted some of them. Works by Martí Alsina are kept in the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona, the Museum of the Abbey of Montserrat and the Museum of l'Empordà, in Figueras.