By Antoni Llobet Aracil
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Title: Rincón de Horta (Corner of Horta)
Artist: Antoni Llobet Aracil (Barcelona, 1910 – 1983)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 46 × 55 cm (18.1 × 21.7 in)
Support: Canvas on stretcher
Signature: Signed “A. Llobet” in the lower right corner
Inscription on reverse: “Rincón de Horta”
Estimated period: 1950s–1960s
Condition: Good
Provenance: Private collection
DESCRIPTION
The painting depicts a scene of vernacular architecture in Barcelona’s Horta neighborhood, at a time when it still preserved its rural and peaceful character. A dirt path opens between lush vegetation and the façades of traditional houses, wrapped in bougainvillea, ivy, and leafy trees. Light enters from the left, illuminating the walls with warm brushstrokes that contrast with the greens and violets defining the foliage. The atmosphere is serene, almost nostalgic, captured with a loose and impasto technique, especially visible in the sky and vegetation.
The composition showcases the painter’s ability to harmonize architecture and nature, conveying the tranquility of a nearly hidden corner. The vibrant brushwork and mastery of color evoke a distinctly Mediterranean sensibility, heir to post-impressionism and the legacy of Joaquim Mir.
ABOUT THE ARTIST: ANTONI LLOBET ARACIL
Antoni Llobet Aracil was a Catalan painter born in Barcelona in 1910 (according to some sources, 1919) and died in 1983. He trained at the Escola Superior de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi and was a pupil of masters such as José Mongrell and Joaquim Mir. In 1931, he received a scholarship to continue his studies in Rome.
His career included exhibitions in Paris, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Mallorca, as well as his native city. He led an itinerant life that enriched his pictorial vision and allowed him to develop a plastic language characterized by free use of color, energetic brushwork, and a poetic view of the landscape.
In his works, Llobet blended the impressionist tradition with a Mediterranean sense of light. He alternated natural landscapes, seascapes, rural streets, and urban corners with a rich palette and atmospheric sensitivity.
He worked as a drawing and painting teacher and exhibited in prominent venues such as Grifé & Escoda in Barcelona, as well as in Palma and Inca, Mallorca.
ARTISTS WITH SIMILAR STYLE
The work of Antoni Llobet Aracil can be linked to that of several Catalan and Mediterranean artists through his loose technique, treatment of the landscape, and warm palette:
Joaquim Mir i Trinxet – for his impasto brushwork and vibrant luminosity.
Rafael Durancamps – for the intimacy and warmth of his urban and rural landscapes.
Josep Mompou – for chromatic harmony and evocative simplicity.
Isidre Nonell (in some late landscapes) – for dense pictorial matter and atmospheric color.
Ramón Vilanova...
Category
1950s Impressionist Antiques in Barcelona
