Rafael Durancamps

RAFAEL DURANCAMPS I FOLGUERA (Sabadell, 1891 - Barcelona, 1979).
"Outskirts of La Garriga".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
The frame needs restoration.
Measurements: 40 x 61 cm; 56 x 80 cm (frame).
Under a limpid sky, a suburban landscape with houses and sown fields unfolds. Except for a cyclist sliding along the dirt road, silence seems to be palpable in this faithful representation of the suburbs of La Garriga.
Rafael Duran i Camps, better known as Durancamps, was a disciple of Vila Cinca at the Industrial School of Arts and Crafts in Sabadell. He later met Joaquín Mir, with whom he established a close relationship, and whose style influenced the colourful language of Durancamps's early period. He exhibited for the first time in 1917 at the Galerías Layetanas in Barcelona, and his success encouraged him to continue painting despite his family's opposition. He spent several periods in Madrid, where he studied the masters of the Prado Museum, and then travelled to Italy. He returned to Barcelona and took part in various competitions, winning important prizes such as the Masriera medal in 1920, as well as holding several exhibitions at the Sala Parés. In 1921 he travelled to Paris for the first time. His work at this time is close to Impressionism, but also shows the influences of Zurbarán, El Greco and Venetian colourism, combining the precision of the drawing with the gravity of the colour. In 1926 he returned to France and settled in Passy, where he lived until 1939. During these years he met Picasso, who encouraged him to hold exhibitions at the Zak gallery, where he enjoyed considerable success, which increased with his successive exhibitions. He returned to Spain and settled in San Sebastián, but continued to work closely with the Sala Parés, where he continued to hold exhibitions until his death. He also held various exhibitions in Madrid, Sabadell, Bilbao, Valencia, London and Philadelphia. Although his first period was influenced by Mir, Durancamps soon evolved towards a more personal conception, giving special prominence to the constructive line and a peculiar colouring of sober beauty. His still lifes, which he treated with a profusion of line and transparency, are a prodigy of serenity and elegance, with such a personal stamp that they escape any contemporary classification. His landscapes and genre scenes, especially the "capeas" in various Spanish villages, are highly emotive. The "skies of foreboding" that express the drama of the fiesta evoke his acute lyrical sense. He is represented in the Museums of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastián and Buenos Aires, as well as in a large number of Spanish and foreign collections.