BALDOMERO GALOFRE JIMÉNEZ (Reus, Tarragona, 1846... Lot 96

BALDOMERO GALOFRE JIMÉNEZ (Reus, Tarragona, 1846 - Barcelona, 1902). "At the Fair", 1891. Oil on panel. Signed and dated in the lower right corner. Measurements: 44 x 66.5 cm; 68 x 89.5 cm (frame). In this work Baldomero Galofre captures a scene full of dynamism and narrative tension, captured with a language of clear impressionist filiation based on a special luminous sensibility and an agile, vibrant and full of life brushstroke, especially expressive in the characters and the horses. The painter takes great pleasure in describing the details, especially the clothes and ornaments of the popular types, as well as in the narrative, seeking the expressiveness of the gestures and without skimping on secondary details. The scene takes place in an Andalusian fair, as indicated by the stalls in the background, and is set in a rugged landscape dominated by the imposing fortification on the right of the composition and the majestic mountains on the horizon. In front of it, a group of people on horseback, dressed in folk costume, wait patiently. The men are dressed in fine cotton shirts with pleats on the breastplate, waistcoats, velvet taleguillas and typical Andalusian hats, while the women (represented to a lesser extent) wear long dresses with plunging necklines. In the background, a whirlwind of mounted musketeers gallops forward, sweeping away everything in their path. The work is a continuation of the Sevillian Romantic school, the main exponent of 19th-century Romantic-style genre painting in Spain. Traditionally, Spanish painting and literature have been interested in popular customs and types. The arrival of Romanticism enlivened this trend, bringing to the Hispanic tradition the vision that foreigners had of our people, due to the snobbery of a Europeanising and liberal national bourgeoisie which, also due to foreign influence and under the Romantic fashion, turned its eyes to the people and monuments of the past. This, which was general throughout Spain, was particularly prevalent in Andalusia, as this land was the dream destination of foreigners, and where the influence of the vision they had of the Spaniard and his peculiar customs had to be felt most strongly. Thus, of the two main schools of costumbrista, the Sevillian school was focused on a gentle, folkloric picturesqueness, far removed from any attempt at social criticism. Baldomero Galofre began his training at the La Lonja School in Barcelona, where he was a pupil of Martí Alsina, and later completed his studies in Madrid. He became known in 1866 at the Fine Arts Exhibition in Barcelona, where he took part again in 1870, and in 1868 he took part in the Aragonese Exhibition in Saragossa with landscapes and studies. In 1874 he obtained a grant to further his studies in Rome, where he lived for ten years. There he attended the Accademia Chigi and the Circulo Internacional de Arte and met Mariano Fortuny in the last months of his life, following the stylistic guidelines of his compatriot. On his return to Barcelona in 1884 he held a personal exhibition which was very well received; Narciso Oller praised his great naturalism and showed him as an example against history painting. Four years later, in a new individual exhibition, this time in Madrid, one of his works was acquired by the Queen Regent. In 1903, in a special room in the Barcelona Museum, Galofre presented an important exhibition of his work. He developed a luminous, detailed style and painted landscapes and popular scenes in the style of Fortuny. He was also an extraordinary draughtsman. He is currently represented in the MACBA and the Museum of Art and History of Reus, among other public and private collections.