Emilio Grau Sala

EMILIO GRAU SALA (Barcelona, 1911 - Paris, 1975).
"Young man, birds and cage on a terrace open to the sea in Toulon", 1939.
Oil on wood.
Signed and dated in the lower margin.
Measurements: 46 x 55 cm; 60 x 70 (frame).

Grau Sala, representative of the most vitalist side of the School of Paris, displays in this vibrant scene a real feast for the senses. The feminine universe always fascinated the artist, and that fascination is captured in scenarios that, despite their familiarity, are located halfway between reality and reverie. On this occasion, a beach view from the terrace of an apartment is transformed (using a post-fauve palette) into a display of textures and chromatic patterns that, without losing the figurative reference, transcend it. Because Grau Sala does not limit himself to enclosing the forms within their limits, but the brushstroke overflows in a festive, yet balanced, decorativism. A young woman whose white linen dress is fluttered by the breeze, swirling her skirt as if it were a seashell, holds a small bird in her hands and observes it with melancholy. Next to her, a bamboo cage houses on different floors a number of tropical birds. The socks and slippers hanging from the clothesline also flutter in the wind, which in turn swells the sails of the boats we can see in the distance. The blue of the sea, of the sky, of the young woman's eyes, of the sailors' suits glimpsed between the palm trees, of the shoes hanging and of the ribbon pinned on the girl's chest, competes and dialogues with the whites of the sailboats, of the dress, of the clean clouds, of the white roses, of the table with a wrought iron base? The whole is resolved in an intense luminism that creates a pleasant atmosphere that lulls the viewer and stimulates his imagination.

Grau Sala was an outstanding representative of the School of Paris. He combined his attendance at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona with self-taught training. He formed the group "Independents". He held his first exhibition in 1929 in the galleries of the famous art dealer Joseph Dalmau and a second, already individual, in the Brandinas Gallery in 1930. He made numerous illustrations of books (Fleurs du mal, Madame Bovary, Bel-Ami, etc.), engravings and scenographies. In 1936, the year he moved to Paris, he received the Carnegie Prize. He begins to paint in an expressionist stage that derives in his own style that will give him self-confidence and growing fame. He returns to the Belle Epoque as inspiration, achieving great ingenuity and artistic elegance. Grau Sala painted in an intimate tone. He has exhibited in innumerable places: Madrid (Museum of Modern Art), London (Fine Arts Gallery), Buenos Aires (Muller Gallery), New York (Dindley Gallery), Barcelona (Syra, Rovira, Sala Parés) etc. His works can be found in the Museums of the Villa de Paris, Museum of l'Ille de France, Chateau de Sceaux, Museum of Honfleur, Museum of La Roxhelle, Museum of Barcelona, Museum of Tossa de Mar, Museum of Philadelphia, Museum of Buenos Aires, etc. His work was recovered posthumously, being realized numerous anthologies in Barcelona and Madrid.