Joaquim Terruella

JOAQUIM TERRUELLA MATILLA (Barcelona, 1891 - 1957).
"Cove on the Costa Brava".
Oil on panel.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Size: 23,5 x 28 cm; 41 x 45 cm (frame).
Nephew and follower of Segundo Matilla, Joaquín Terruella was also a disciple of Santiago Rusiñol. He made a trip to Italy with the latter in 1923, as well as spending some time working together in Aranjuez. He also painted in Paris and Palma de Mallorca. He had his first solo exhibition at the now defunct Sala Goya in Barcelona in 1916. From then on he exhibited in Barcelona, especially in the Sala Parés (from 1924), and also showed his Impressionist landscapes in galleries in Paris (he exhibited there for the first time in 1922), Madrid, Palma, Saragossa, Bordeaux and Biarritz. From 1928 onwards he showed his work at the Sala Gaspar in Barcelona, where he would continue to exhibit until 1952. In 1956 he held his last exhibition at the Sala Busquets, also in his native city. Since then his work has been present in various group and anthological exhibitions, such as the one held at the Sala Gothsland in Barcelona in 1985. In 1993, Ángeles Cortina brought together a series of his oil paintings and drawings in her Barcelona gallery. Joaquín Terruella was a fundamentally landscape painter, in the wake of Impressionism, who reflected the Catalan landscape with delicacy and subtle transparency. Another of his favourite subjects was the world of bullfighting, and in fact he worked as a bullfighting illustrator for the publications "El Día Gráfico" and "La Noche". He also painted scenes of gypsies and concert cafés. His work is kept in the MACBA, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Madrid and the Museo Provincial de Lugo.