Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem

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Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem
15-10-27-Els Quatre Gats-RalfR-WMA 2740a.jpg
Artist Ramon Casas i Carbó
Year1897 (1897)
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensions191 cm× 215 cm(75 in× 85 in)
Location Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona

Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem is a painting by Ramon Casas in exhibition at the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona.

Contents

Description

Casas painted Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem in 1897 specifically for the interior of Els Quatre Gats, a bar that was at the center of the Modernisme art movement in Barcelona. [1] It depicts Casas and Pere Romeu, one of the promoters of Els Quatre Gats , on a tandem bicycle against the Barcelona skyline. Casas is seen in profile with his pipe, while Romeu looks directly at the viewer. [2] Although painted on canvas, the composition has the graphic quality of a huge poster with its bold drawing and simplified forms, reflecting the fact that the artist was a skilled poster designer and illustrator. [3]

The original inscription in Catalan on the right side of the painting, which was later cut off, read "to ride a bicycle, you can't go with your back straight." [1] The message described the attitude of the bar founders (two of whom are depicted here), that in order to make progress, you must break with tradition, as was done at Els Quatre Gats. In 1901, this painting was replaced with another large composition by Casas, entitled Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu in an Automobile , in which the tandem bicycle has given way to a car, symbolizing the new century. [1] When reproductions of the two paintings appeared in the magazine Pel & Ploma , they were referred to as The End of the 19th Century and The Beginning of the 20th Century, respectively. [4]

Exhibition history

YearMuseum or galleryCityTitleReference
1897-1900 Els Quatre Gats Barcelona
1958 Palau de la Virreina BarcelonaRamon Casas
1969 Casón del Buen Retiro MadridEl Modernismo en España
1970 Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art BarcelonaEl Modernismo en España
1978 Princeton University Art Museum Princeton Els Quatre Gats. Art in Barcelona around 1900 [5]
1978 Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. Els Quatre Gats. Art in Barcelona around 1900 [5]
1979 Palazzo Medici Riccardi Florence Picasso e dintorni. I Quattro Gatti. Il Modernismo catalano
1980 Palacio de Velázquez MadridCien años de cultura catalana 1880–1980
1981–1982 Saló del Tinell BarcelonaPicasso i Barcelona 1881–1981
1982 Museum of Modern Art, Madrid MadridPicasso i Barcelona 1881–1981
1982 Museu Picasso BarcelonaPicasso i Barcelona 1881–1981
1982Palau de la VirreinaBarcelonaExposicion Ramon Casas
1983Barcelona Museum of Modern ArtBarcelonaEls Autoretrats del Museu d'Art Modern
1984 Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux Bordeaux 50 ans d'art espagnol 1880–1936
1985–1986 Hayward Gallery London Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 [6]
1987Palau de la VirreinaBarcelonaHomage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 [6]
1987The Prefectural Museum of Modern Art Kobe Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 [6]
1987 The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura Kamakura Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 [6]
1987 Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu Gifu Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 [6]
1990–1991Barcelona Museum of Modern ArtBarcelonaEl Modernisme
1992 Palau Robert BarcelonaArt i esport a Catalunya
1995–1996 Museu Picasso BarcelonaPicasso i els 4 Gats. La clau de la modernitat
2001 National Art Museum of Catalonia BarcelonaRamon Casas. El pintor del moderinsme [7]
2001 Mapfre Vida Cultural Foundation MadridRamon Casas. El pintor del moderinsme [7]
2001Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais ParisParis Barcelone de Gaudi a Miró
2002Museu PicassoBarcelonaParis Barcelona 1888–1937
2006–2007 Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miró, and Dalí [8]
2007 Metropolitan Museum of Art New York Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miró, and Dalí [8]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 McCully (1978), p. 64.
  2. Robinson et al, p. 81.
  3. Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem and In an Automobile on the National Art Museum of Catalonia's YouTube channel
  4. Robinson et al., p. 82.
  5. 1 2 McCully (1978)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 McCully (1986)
  7. 1 2 Doñate and Mendoza (2001)
  8. 1 2 Robinson et al. (2007)

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