Juan De Palau, Market, 1950s, Watercolor

Watercolor “Market” Juan de Palau, s. XX – Catalan School

Extraordinary watercolor made by the Catalan painter Juan de Palau (1919 - 1991). An everyday scene is represented, what appears to be a market. In the central area there are two ladies sitting on a municipal bench, dressed in a simple outfit and a headscarf. Several other characters complete the composition, carrying baskets or chatting among themselves, appreciating a relaxed atmosphere. In the background are the stalls covered by whitish canvas, which completely illuminate the work.

In this work, there is an expressive use of colors as well as loose brushstrokes, with muted tones that give an atmosphere of calm or stillness. The figures are outlined somewhat schematically, but clearly recognizable, suggesting a more stylized and less realistic approach. All in favor of the expression on the part of the author, which shows a melancholic touch, since some of the women have their gaze fixed towards the front or to their sides. This focus on the most common or, sometimes even marginal, people is taken from the painting of Isidro Nonell (1872 - 1911), an important painter of Catalan Modernism. In this sense, the transformative dimension of his activity was undeniable. with a vision devoid of class prejudices, and from his declassed condition, Nonell was able to provide nobility, dignity, elegance and beauty to those models that had traditionally been far from the canons of classical beauty.

Joan de Palau i Buxó (1919 - 1991)

He was born in Girona in 1919. He moved to Madrid to study architecture, studies that he did not finish due to lack of vocation. He soon became interested in art and met Santiago Rusiñol, who would help him shape his vocation. Furthermore, he frequently visits the painting rooms of the Prado Museum where he is especially interested in the great Spanish and Dutch masters.

In 1936, before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he returned to Catalonia and joined the army of the Republic. Once the war is over, he will make a living drawing movie posters at the Majestic cinema in Granollers and making theater sets for the variety company “Los Viennese”. Years later, in 1946, he settled permanently in Banyoles, where he had previously spent the summer with his family, and that is where he met his wife. It is then that he fully integrates into the artistic and cultural fabric of the city, becoming the definitive setting for developing his painting.

The artist dedicates himself completely to painting and drawing using techniques such as pencil, gouache, watercolors and oils, among other techniques. In 1940 he won the gold medal in a painting competition in the city of Barcelona, ​​with a portrait of his mother. And the following year, again with a portrait of his mother, he won first prize in the Ciudad de Granollers competition. In 1949 he obtained the Badalona Medal with a watercolor on the subject of Bath.

In 1950 he began commercial relations with painting dealers established in Barcelona, ​​who exported his works to South America, mainly Venezuela and Puerto Rico. Indicative of the great capacity to create pictorial works of great artistic quality that led him to have paintings distributed throughout the world.

In the work of Joan de Palau we find compositions that are always proportioned, realistic and with pictorial detail. He almost always painted from memory, but he could constantly be found walking by the pond or the city observing the landscape that surrounded him and doing an exercise as a still photo that, later, in the tranquility of the studio, he transferred to the canvas with precision.

The Joan de Palau Workshop currently continues its activity, practically as it was started by the painter and now managed by his children.

· Technique: Watercolor

· Title of the work: “Market”

· Author: Juan de Palau (1919 - 1991)

· Signed in the lower left corner

· Period: 20th century

· Country of origin: Catalonia, Spain

· Origin: Catalan private collection

· Good condition according to its age and use

· Overall dimensions: 86.5 x 106 x 3.5 cm.

· Dimensions without frame: 67 x 86 cm.

The frame that protects the work is offered as a gift, but has value in itself. It is provided at no additional cost so that when your artwork arrives at your home or destination it can be displayed immediately. Any damage to the frame itself, which does not affect the integrity of the artwork, cannot be accepted as a valid reason to open a claim or request a cancellation.
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