19th-20th century Spanish

Born to a family of traders, Jaume Mercadé moved to Barcelona to begin his training as a goldsmith and painter. He took up painting under the guidance of Francesc d’Assís Galí (1880-1965), whose academy acknowledged the influence of Catalan

 Noucentisme 

a term coined by Eugenio d’Ors to name a cultural movement which many scholars regard as the most interesting in Spanish twentieth century art. Its members were highly prepared intellectually, pro-European and appreciated the form, rejecting improvisation and embracing the notion of “a job well done.” They were also known for their eschewal of sentimentality, their quest for purity and extolling of the urban world, as opposed to the ruralism prevailing among the members of the Generation of ’98, and, in short, for their elitism and self-awareness of aesthetic, social and intellectual avant-gardism.

although, strictly speaking, he did not belong to that movement. Since then, and throughout his career, Mercadé pursued formal purity. In Barcelona he joined the group Les Arts i les Artistes, and his first solo exhibition was held at Galerías Layetanas in 1917.

In the 1920s, the artist travelled throughout Europe and acquainted himself with the avant-gardes. While in Paris he became interested in the painting of Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) and Paul Cézanne (1839-1906). In 1921, while in Germany, he familiarised himself with Expressionist painting and he also visited Switzerland and then Italy.

Thematically, his painting is defined by landscape, the main genre in his creative output, together with still life and portraiture, all of them interpreted in a realistic language and with heightened compositional and chromatic rigour. He also achieved recognition as a goldsmith, silversmith and jewellery maker, disciplines that earned him an award at the International Expositions of Paris (1925) and Barcelona (1929).

The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya and various private collections have works by Mercadé in their holdings.