19th-20th Century Spanish

Born in a humble family, Gimeno i Arasa started as a self-taught artist working in Manuel Marqués’s decorative painting workshop from 1872 through 1880. He later moved to Barcelona to further his training, a period when he devoted himself mostly to landscape painting.

In the mid-1880s he completed his education at the San Fernando Royal School of Fine Arts in Madrid. There he trained under Carlos de Haes (1826-1898), who stimulated his interest in a naturalist style that would become the basis of his language as a painter.

In 1887 the painter returned to Barcelona for good. There he took part in the city’s official exhibitions but did not achieve the recognition he hoped for. In the 1890s his style evolved as his landscapes became more dynamic and he started to be more concerned with the depiction of atmospheric effects and changes of light.

In 1904 Gimeno was given an honorary mention at the in Madrid. However, he had to wait until 1915 to enjoy the well-deserved recognition which came with his first solo show at Sala Dalmau. Although the exhibition was not a resounding success, it brought him commissions that helped him to establish a faithful clientele.

From that moment onwards, he went on several landscape expeditions around the Costa Brava and Mallorca. His prestige and his exhibition activity increased and his works started to be acclaimed by critics and collectors alike. At an international level it is worth mentioning his participation in the 1920 and at the Exhibition of Catalan Art held in Lisbon in 1921.

Gimeno Arasa died on 22 November 1927 in Barcelona. One month later, Sala Parés opened a retrospective exhibition of his work which achieved the success the painter had never enjoyed while alive.