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Bernat Sanjuan
Young musicians oil on canvas painting

c.1960

About the Item

Title: Musicians Artist: Bernat Sanjuán i Tarré (Barcelona, 1915 – Deià, Mallorca, 1979) Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 36.2 x 25.6 in Support: Canvas Framing: Unframed Period: Second half of the 20th century Style: Modernist figurative with expressionist and cubist influences Signature: Lower right corner, "Sanjuan" DESCRIPTION OF THE PAINTING The painting "Musicians" portrays a pair of instrumentalists in a scene rich in expressionist and poetic elements. The composition centers on two elongated figures—one playing a lute or mandolin-like instrument, the other playing a flute. The characters are immersed in an abstract atmosphere, where fragmented backgrounds in shades of green, gray, and ochre reinforce the sense of depth and movement. The brushwork is loose and energetic, with thick layers of oil paint creating a rich visual texture, reflecting the influence of expressionism in Sanjuán’s work. The geometric treatment of forms, especially in the faces and limbs of the characters, evokes references to cubism, highlighting the synthesis between figuration and abstraction. The color contrasts between the cool tones of the background and the warm highlights on the legs and instrument add dynamism to the composition. The artwork conveys a sense of harmony and intimacy, where music becomes the connecting element between the two figures, emphasizing the emotional expressiveness that characterizes Bernat Sanjuán's production. BIOGRAPHY OF THE ARTIST: BERNAT SANJUÁN I TARRÉ Bernat Sanjuán i Tarré (Barcelona, 1915 – Deià, Mallorca, 1979) was a Catalan painter and sculptor, renowned for his modernist figurative style with expressionist and cubist influences. He trained as an artist in Barcelona, though his career was shaped by his exposure to European avant-garde movements. During the 1950s, he traveled to France, where he had the opportunity to meet Pablo Picasso, whose work profoundly influenced his artistic evolution. Sanjuán was nicknamed "Le peintre des rouges" ("The Painter of Reds") by a French art critic due to his frequent use of red tones in his paintings. During the 1960s and 1970s, he participated in numerous exhibitions and solidified his artistic language, characterized by the superimposition of color planes, the use of the palette knife, and the depiction of everyday scenes with a modernist approach. Beyond painting, he explored other artistic disciplines such as sculpture, ceramics, and experimental photography, developing innovative techniques based on direct manipulation of photographic film. He also created sacred art, including stained glass windows and murals for various churches, and illustrated the Spanish edition of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. His legacy endures in private collections and several locations in Catalonia and Mallorca, where his work remains a significant contribution to 20th-century Spanish art. INFLUENCES AND SIMILAR PAINTERS Bernat Sanjuán shares stylistic traits with other 20th-century artists who explored the balance between figuration and abstraction. His work is reminiscent of the following painters: Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) → Cubist influence and fragmented figures. Georges Braque (1882-1963) → Geometric structuring and compositional balance. Jean Metzinger (1883-1956) → Integration of color and fragmented imagery with a poetic sensibility. Antoni Clavé (1913-2005) → Figurative expressionism with rich textures and abstract compositions. Manuel Ángeles Ortiz (1895-1984) → Similar themes with a strong symbolic and modernist approach. Sanjuán belongs to the post-war Spanish modernist tradition, where expressive techniques and modernist interpretations of the human figure played a central role in artistic development. CONCLUSION The painting "Musicians" is a representative piece of Bernat Sanjuán’s talent, where music and the expressiveness of the figures are combined in a vibrant and textured pictorial setting. His modernist treatment of the scene aligns him with the great artists of the 20th century, who explored the relationship between form, color, and emotion within figurative art.
  • Creator:
    Bernat Sanjuan (1915 - 1979, Spanish)
  • Creation Year:
    c.1960
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 36.23 in (92 cm)Width: 25.6 in (65 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Barcelona, ES
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1155215848672

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