JOAN CARDONA I LLADÓS (Barcelona, 1877 - 1957).
"Flamenco Tablao".
Mixed media on paper.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 36 x 58 cm; 60 x 82 cm (frame).
Joan Cardona offers us in this mixed technique a cheerful and dynamic scene, starred by an intense and contrasted coloring. In a scene dominated by neutral tones, combining blues, reds, blacks and earth tones, the intense blues, reds, yellows and greens of the costumes and shawls of the dancers and the singer stand out. Leaving nothing to the imagination, the curious onlookers who come to see the picturesque act and even the village in which the scene is set, worked with energetic, almost violent and totally dynamic strokes, which do not require detailed description to reflect the movement and the meaning of the dance. Thus, the colorful canvases decompose in pure light, fold with the movement and accumulate, highlighting the physical presence of women, illuminated by a light that bathes the entire scene equally. At a formal level it is also worth mentioning the expressiveness of the treatment of the faces that reflect Cardona's Andalusian prototype.
Trained at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de la Lonja and at the Academia Baixeras in Barcelona, he furthered his studies in Paris, where he settled for several years. In the French capital he formed a group with the best illustrators of the time, such as Cappiello, Sem, Steinlen and Roubille. Painter and draftsman, he developed an important activity in the field of illustration, collaborating with Spanish magazines such as "El Gato Negro" and "Hispania", and in the French magazines "Le Rire" and "Simplicissimus". His collaboration with "Jugend", the flagship magazine of Viennese modernism, the Jugendstil, stands out. In his Parisian period Cardona achieved international fame thanks to his pen drawings, characterized by the sharpness of the stroke and strong expressive values. On the contrary, in his painting he subordinates line to color, with warm tones in his early years and cold ranges in his maturity. His paintings, of great expressive force and dense impasto, define the protagonism of the woman, who is outlined on vibrant, almost abstract backgrounds, in a style that brings him close to Anglada Camarasa. In 1897 he was awarded a prize in the competition organized by the Mariana Academy of Lleida. He exhibited in Paris in the Salons d'Automne and of the Societé Nationale, obtaining in both the title of societaire. He participated in the International Exhibitions of Fine Arts of Barcelona in 1907 and 1929. He is represented in the Museum of Luxembourg, in Paris.
Measurements: 36 x 58 cm; 60 x 82 cm (frame).