This work is a good example of the practice of the Catalan artist Josep Mompou. It shows us the gaze of a practitioner who, though openly opting for figuration, is not far removed from modernism. Spain’s art scene in the 1950s saw a growing tendency towards abstraction, and so this type of painting received less favour among art critics than it had during the 1920s and 1930s. However, his standing in the country’s art world was reaffirmed after his participation in the Spanish Pavilion at the Expo held in Brussels in 1958.

This oil painting shows how, with the passing of the years, Mompou’s painting changed subtly, shifting towards a relative abstraction in landscape, the genre for which he is generally recognised. His painting did not abandon figuration, rather it synthesised the elements through lush and expressive brushwork, resonant of the avant-gardes. Furthermore, one would also have to underline the supremacy of colour, always to the fore in the work by this Catalan artist, who, since his formative years, had been strongly influenced by Fauve painters like Albert Marquet (1875-1947).

Exhibited at Sala Parés in 1992, as acknowledged in the label on the back, and previously at Sala Vayreda, a gallery connected with the former, this work is of outstanding interest within the artist’s overall production.