Cesc, Francesc Vila and Rufas

"CESC", FRANCESC VILA Y RUFAS (Barcelona, 1927 - Barcelona, 2006).
"Characters in the cafe".
Oil and collage on board.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 55 x 40 cm; 65 x 50 cm (frame).
Francesc Vila y Rufas, better known as "Cesc" is a national reference of the graphic humor of the 20th century. Ninotaire and painter, he began in the Diario de Barcelona and, from an early age, his criticism of Franco's dictatorship became popular in the city. He brought back the power of the joke in Catalan with ironic and tender images that narrated the Catalonia of the sixties until the nineties. During his professional life he collaborated with the most influential magazines of the time such as Miedo Favor, Gaceta Ilustrada, Mundo, Sierra de Oro, Tele/cometa, El Jueves... and his figure also left his mark on the international scene in magazines such as Punch, Pardon, Paris-Match... Francesc Vila y Rufas, better known as "Cesc", created several advertising campaigns, posters, cards and books. After leaving the world of jokes, he began to cultivate his facet of painting and engraving, which led him to be awarded the Cross of Sant Jordi of the Generalitat de Catalunya in 1995 and the International Humor Prize Gato Perich in 2002. He became a full member of the Royal Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi and, in 2008, the Robert Palace in Barcelona dedicated an exhibition of his work entitled "La fuerza de un trazo" (The strength of a stroke) to him.