Casas—
Rusiñol
Two modernist visions
14 November 2014 - 1 March 2015
Portrait of Mercedes Llorach, 1901
© Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina SofíaGift of the heirs of Mercedes Llorach, 2013
Portrait of Mercedes Llorach, 1901
© Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina SofíaGift of the heirs of Mercedes Llorach, 2013
Bourgeois and bohemians, successful painters in Spain and Europe and foremost practitioners of Catalan Modernism, Santiago Rusiñol (1861–1931) and Ramon Casas (1866–1932) are two of the great Spanish artists of the late 1800s who revitalized the painting scene of their day and ushered in the modernity that led to the emergence of the avant-garde in the twentieth century.
Throughout their lives, from the time they met in 1882 through a mutual friend, the sculptor Enric Clarasó, they shared a close friendship, profession, successes, artistic concerns and experiences and showed their work in twelve joint exhibitions at the Sala Parés in Barcelona from 1890 to 1931.
The Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga sets out to reunite both masters in this show, which examines the various aspects of their relationship: their friendship, their comfortable bourgeois background, the same art scenes (Paris and Catalonia), their contribution to art at the turn of the nineteenth century, their work as poster designers and the different paths they pursued, especially in their choice of the main subjects of their painting – Casas portraits and Rusiñol gardens.