20th-21st Century Spanish

After studying at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts and at the studio of Oleguer Junyent (1876-1956), a stage designer, painter and close friend of his father, in 1951 Aguilar travelled to Paris for the first time. This trip would lead to a greater freedom in his style of painting, with the brushstroke becoming independent from colour. Since his first exhibition in 1948, his work was seen in many shows and gained many distinctions, including Spain’s National Fine Arts Award (1960).

Aguilar was born in a middle class family with an artistic background, and one of his forebears was the celebrated photographer known as Napoleón who gained fame in the then-new discipline as a portraitist of the Belle Epoque period in Barcelona; a great-uncle had been a painter; and his own father, though a physician by profession, exhibited as a painter at Sala Parés in Barcelona.

The main subject of his drawings, and also his oil paintings is the human figure, particularly the female figure. In his early stages he made many sketches and preparatory drawings with the subject matter of dance. He also showed a liking for urban landscapes, still lifes and interiors, always executed in a cold palette dominated by bluish tones. Under the influence of Expressionism, the brushwork of his compositions softened, making them more decorative. He also made a brief foray into , replacing the line by thick impastos which he achieved by applying paint with a palette knife.