Ramón Martí Alsina
Encyclopedia
Ramon Martí i Alsina (1826-1894), was a Catalan
Realist
painter. He studied in Barcelona
at La Llotja school of art under Antoni Ferrant, Claudi Lorenzale and Lluís Rigalt, among others. He made several trips to Paris
in successive stages over which he came to know the work of Courbet
, the French
Realists
and the Barbizon school
. Although he was primarily a realist, his early works were influenced by Romanticism
and in his later works, he began adapting the tenets of Impressionism
, hence some critics consider him an Eclectic
painter. He is considered the best representative of Spanish Realism
and is credited with introducing Courbet's ideas into Catalonia
.
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
Realist
Realism
Realism, Realist or Realistic are terms that describe any manifestation of philosophical realism, the belief that reality exists independently of observers, whether in philosophy itself or in the applied arts and sciences. In this broad sense it is frequently contrasted with Idealism.Realism in the...
painter. He studied in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
at La Llotja school of art under Antoni Ferrant, Claudi Lorenzale and Lluís Rigalt, among others. He made several trips to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in successive stages over which he came to know the work of Courbet
Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet was a French painter who led the Realist movement in 19th-century French painting. The Realist movement bridged the Romantic movement , with the Barbizon School and the Impressionists...
, the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Realists
Realism (visual arts)
Realism in the visual arts is a style that depicts the actuality of what the eyes can see. The term is used in different senses in art history; it may mean the same as illusionism, the representation of subjects with visual mimesis or verisimilitude, or may mean an emphasis on the actuality of...
and the Barbizon school
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
. Although he was primarily a realist, his early works were influenced by Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
and in his later works, he began adapting the tenets of Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
, hence some critics consider him an Eclectic
Spanish Eclecticism
Spanish Eclecticism was a movement among Spanish painters from 1845 to 1890. It was named after the tendency by artists to select from among multiple established styles of that era. A sensibility of relative renewal dominated the rest of Europe, while in Spain, Realism and Impressionism were slow...
painter. He is considered the best representative of Spanish Realism
Realism (visual arts)
Realism in the visual arts is a style that depicts the actuality of what the eyes can see. The term is used in different senses in art history; it may mean the same as illusionism, the representation of subjects with visual mimesis or verisimilitude, or may mean an emphasis on the actuality of...
and is credited with introducing Courbet's ideas into Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
.
Main Works
Although he was primarily a landscape painter, two of his most renowned works are historical paintings and a third is a genre scene:- The Great Day of GironaThe great day of GironaThe great day of Girona, originally and in Catalan El gran dia de Girona , is a large oil painting by Ramon Martí Alsina. It is the largest easel painting in the history of Catalan art. The creation process lasted more than 10 years and was about to bring the artist to his ruin on several occasions...
or Girona's Great Day (El gran dia de Girona, completed by 1863-64) - The Siesta or The Nap (La Migdiada, ca. 1884)
- The Santa Bàrbara Company (La Companyia de Santa Bàrbara, ca. 1891), also about the siege of Girona by French troops.