Ramón Martí Alsina

RAMÓN MARTÍ ALSINA (Barcelona, 1826 - 1894).
"The great day of Girona".
Oil on canvas, relined.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 122 x 204 cm; 130 x 214 cm (frame).

Preparatory sketch of the work "The great day of Girona", work of Marti Alsina of 1863. It describes one of the most bloody episodes of the Siege of Girona in 1809. It is currently part of the collection of the National Art Museum of Catalonia and is on display, on deposit, at the headquarters of the Generalitat de Catalunya in Girona, in the church building of the former Hospital de Santa Catalina.

Considered today as the most important figure of Spanish realism, Martí Alsina is part of the European avant-garde of the time. He revolutionized the Spanish artistic panorama of the 19th century, was a pioneer of the naturalistic study, and creator of the modern Catalan school, as well as teacher 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 evening classes at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona until 1848. From 1850 his artistic career was consolidated, and in 1852 he began his teaching career. . In 1853 he travels to Paris, where he visits the Louvre and becomes familiar with the work of Horace Vernet, Eugène Delacroix and French romanticism. Later, he became 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 Exposition 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. Works by Martí Alsina are preserved in the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the MACBA, the Museum of the Abbey of Montserrat and the Museum of l'Empordà, in Figueras.