Ramon Casas
Barcelona, 1866-1932
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Portrait of the Painter Ramon Casas
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Caricature of Ramon Casas
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Portrait of Ramon Nogués Casas
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War on heat (obverse) / Portraits of Ramon Casas and Santiago Rusiñol (reverse)
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II. Modernism(s)
If there was one place in Barcelona that stood for modernity with Parisian roots, this was the tavern Els Quatre Gats (1897-1903), founded by a group of artists who had lived in Paris –Casas, Rusiñol, Utrillo– and run by Pere Romeu, one of the central figures of bohemian Barcelona. As well as promoting magazines and other publications, he gathered enthusiasts and artists of different ages, including, as is well-known, the young Picasso. Like the Montmartre venues that inspired it, it was home to exhibitions, concerts and puppet shows, coinciding with the invention of the cinema, of which Barcelona was to become a major production centre.
I. The Rise of the Modern Artist
The studio is identified with the ‘character’ of the modern artist as much as with the ‘style’ of his work. It is a place of retreat, of inspiration, and also the nucleus from which that inspiration spreads outwards. Modern depictions of the studio, whether in painting or photography, include both the artist or enthusiast deep in thought and the unkempt rascal or model and, very often, a painting of which all we see is the stretcher, as a symbol of the mystery of the work for ever in progress, a prerogative of the artist.
Portrait of Joaquim Casas i Carbó
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Atelier Casas & Utrillo
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1900: The Gibson Girl
The Gibson Girl, who appeared in the end of the XIX century and gained popularity in the beginning of the XX century, was the personification of the feminine ideal of physical attractiveness portrayed by the satirical pen-and-ink illustrator Charles Dana Gibson. She represented the visual ideal of the phenomenon of the "New Woman".
Her statuesque, narrow-waisted ideal feminine figure was portrayed as being ‘easy’ and stylish, always perfectly dressed in the latest fashionable attire. She was also one of the new, more athletic shaped women, who often exercised and was emancipated to the extent that she could enter the workplace, but, at the same time, she refined beauty in spirit.
Fashion in the early 1900s continued the long elegant lines of the 1890s. This period is characterized with tall, stiff collars, broad hats and full hairstyles. The fashion houses began to show a new silhouette, with a thicker waist, flatter bust and hips. By the end of the first decade of the XX century the most fashionable skirts cleared the floor and approached the ankle. The overall silhouette narrowed and straightened, became more columnar, and little by little marked the approaching abandonment of the corset and, in this way, the Gibson Girl went out fashion to welcome the "flappers".
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- Charles Allan Gilbert, The April Century, 1902
- Francesc Xavier Gosé, Woman seated, circa 1900-1904
- Ramon Casas, Idle Hours, circa 1898-1900
- Ramon Casas, Plein air, circa 1890-1891
- Ramon Casas, [Pèl & Ploma], 1903